The auction house for new players

[anemephistus]

Alright, so as we all know advice when not asked for is the best kind right? So, since this is Khyber and I'm not waiting for someone to ask even one more time in the advice window, I have put together a set of things that will help newer players get a better feel for the auction house. These things might be good considerations for others as well if they haven't considered them before. First however, I must submit this before the masses, so that you all might ravage my vision of helping others, slay my hopes, and discourage me from ever doing anything useful with myself again “sob” .

Disclaimer: I have avoided listing the multitude of problem with the Auction house, If I wanted to chase a crack addicted monkey with a knife in it's head around in circles I would say “ Search Function” but I don't think I can catch that monkey, and there are plenty of other threads for that.

I am not telling anyone what they can or cannot do, nor what they should or should not do just take the advice if you want it and if not.... ( searches bag of obscenities, pulls out some random cards) eat a mango catfish? “ hmm not what I wanted,.” you get the idea...

Selling:
First, if you have an item that you think you want to sell, ask yourself some questions,

“Can I buy this at the vendor.” if the answer is yes then don't bother with the auction house unless you plan on selling what you have cheaper than you "or others" can buy it for.

“Is it cool.” By cool I mean useful, many of us have played armor roulette and bought some +5 Mithral full plate of slay everything than touches me only to discover when we put it on we look like a rejected opossum skin clad reject from a German techno band. This unfortunate image however should not change your price at the auction house. If it is useful at the minimum level of the item to the class that can use it then you can sell it without shame.

“ How rare is it?” There are several ways to check this but since you are selling it there is an easy way to find out. How many are for sale? If you are the guy that put up the 987,431,965th
+1 longsword and it's not the very cheapest then it will not sell, just broker it. By contrast if you think that it is a pretty cool item and you don't see any others for sale it's probably somewhat rare, or your judgment sucks, hopefully its the former but if it's the latter then this post won't help you anyway . If you don't see any other copies of your item for sale, check the broker, it might just be something no one bothers selling. If there are no copies of it at the broker then you have a possibly rare item, Increase the minimum level search criteria and the maximum and see if there are other things with the same effect for sale at higher levels if not you need to find something with a similar effect to help base your price on.

“What are other copies of this item selling for?” There are usually other copies of what you are selling already for sale, especially if its low level loot. Set the minimum level search criteria and the maximum level search criteria both to the minimum level of the item you want to sell, select the category that the item goes in and search. Look and see what others are selling this item for. Don't take the first price you see and assume that it is average, look through all of the pages, find the highest price and the lowest, and then ask yourself how fast you want to sell this item and what you can get out of it.




“So what can I get out of it?” Alright, you have checked the lowest price and the highest, you have made sure that you aren't posting the 987,431,96th copy of a ( searches bag of obscenities, pulls out a random card) +3 flaming shaved weasel skin cloak “ I had that on one card? Huh, who knew?” Any way you are finally ready to sell the item. If the lowest price is less than you want to sell your item for then look at the next lowest and consider the demand for the item. If you believe that the item is in high demand then maybe two will sell, if not, then you need to undercut the lowest price, if it will fetch more money than you can get selling it at a broker then you will make money. If you won't undercut the lowest price or go near it and be one of the next two or three for sale, then keep your item, it must have sentimental value, like a stuffed dog that you loved, or a shoebox full of old bratwurst. If you post an item in trade that is more than the minimum auction house price it will probably not sell, most players check before they buy.

Try and use good sense, look at the other items for sale, ask other players and if all else fails and your item doesn't sell, re-post it cheaper and try again.

The popcorn you are eating has been Pi$$ed in, Film at 11:00.

[Boldrin]

Did you write for Ren and Stimpy? lol

[Ashurr]

And here I was all set to attack the person with the audacity to post a help thread on this server..but I'm laughing to damned hard you...you...you light-bulb smoking meercat!

[Saaluta]

[QUOTE=anemephistus;3046780] +3 flaming shaved weasel skin cloak QUOTE]

Quick question...was that a flaming shaved weasel skin cloak or a flaming shaved weasel skin cloak?

Saal

[Kelavam]

I did find this rather humorous. I want that random bag of curse words you have there.

I have also found, that when in doubt in what to sell an item for, listing it at a starting price of 1/2 it's "value" (I am uncertain how this number is even determined, but it is not for me to question the devs), post it for 3 days, and have a buy out a about 1 1/2 times its listed "value".

I have a lot of luck with this method. 75-90 percent of what I post sells (weekdays are the 75 percent, weekends the 90). I find that the prices where people decide an item is worth 15 million gold... Well. You get the idea. Even if it IS pocket change for some people, still uncalled for. Using the bank for a storage seems a little selfish to me - makes sifting through the unbearable list of items even more unbearable.

I usually will not even try to sell something whose value is less that 3,000 gold, as they never seem to attract buyers even using the listed method above. I will sell them to the vendors in the marketplace.

Just my 2 cents, for what it is worth.

-Dollen

[Slink]

+1 for the 'kentucky fried movie' reference.

more to come when I have the opportunity next.
This thread is a /win.

[FrancisP.Fancypants]

I did find this rather humorous. I want that random bag of curse words you have there.

I have also found, that when in doubt in what to sell an item for, listing it at a starting price of 1/2 it's "value" (I am uncertain how this number is even determined, but it is not for me to question the devs), post it for 3 days, and have a buy out a about 1 1/2 times its listed "value".

I have a lot of luck with this method. 75-90 percent of what I post sells (weekdays are the 75 percent, weekends the 90). I find that the prices where people decide an item is worth 15 million gold... Well. You get the idea. Even if it IS pocket change for some people, still uncalled for. Using the bank for a storage seems a little selfish to me - makes sifting through the unbearable list of items even more unbearable.

I usually will not even try to sell something whose value is less that 3,000 gold, as they never seem to attract buyers even using the listed method above. I will sell them to the vendors in the marketplace.

Just my 2 cents, for what it is worth.

-Dollen

I rarely, rarely bid on anything. If I can't find a fair enough buyout price, I don't bother.

Generally if I'm selling something, I set the buyout price slightly lower than the lowest equivalent item already up, and the auction price at about 75% of that.
I've only posted things I'm loathe to get rid of but have no practical use for- stuff none of my characters need but still seems too cool to just vendor. As long as it actually sells, and I get a little more than vendor price then I'm happy.

The thing about AH is it's pretty much a flea market. There are often good deals, but you're gonna have to sift through a whole lot of BS to find them.

[Kelavam]

I agree with you there, I always look for a buyout over bidding. It is not that I disagree with bidding on an item.

They Auction House bidding system needs some serious work. There really is no reason that it should be based on one bid, then you have to wait and keep checking to see if you are outbid. The system should have a max bid price (I guess more like an ebay, if you will) where you can bid and enter a max bid so as if someone else comes along when you are offline, you can still put a bid on that item.

And do not get me started on the lack of a search feature. I think that is what makes me shy away from shopping too much at the auction house. I have no issues putting items up for sale, but I do get frustrated trying to find something specific.

On a somewhat related note.. What is the point of having an auction house if there are going to be a large quantities of people shouting out items they have for sale over the advice channel? I can kind of see the /trade channel... But the advice channel?

These have all been addressed elsewhere in the forums, I am sure. I have played the game for a while now, just recently started getting into the forums. Lots of good posts in here.

[jwdaniels]

Don't forget to include the posting fee and the 30% auction house fee when determining if you will be able to make money at the price you're setting.

[Boldrin]

+1 for the 'kentucky fried movie' reference.

more to come when I have the opportunity next.
This thread is a /win.

I haven't watched that in decades!

[Angel_Barchild]

+1 for bringing the funny. lol

[Dark_Helmet]

+1 for the 'kentucky fried movie' reference.
This thread is a /win.

I haven't watched that in decades!

And yet, I bet the only thing you remember is the shower scene.

[Garbudo]

A min/max bid like (Ebay) would be nice on some of those pesky auctions that do not have a buyout option (of course you would have to dump plat for the max bid but would save some of us time and plats)

[Eladiun]

Very funny stuff and informative. I owe you a +1. I also don't even look at items w/o a buyout I'm too impatient.

[anemephistus]

I rarely, rarely bid on anything. If I can't find a fair enough buyout price, I don't bother.

Generally if I'm selling something, I set the buyout price slightly lower than the lowest equivalent item already up, and the auction price at about 75% of that.
I've only posted things I'm loathe to get rid of but have no practical use for- stuff none of my characters need but still seems too cool to just vendor. As long as it actually sells, and I get a little more than vendor price then I'm happy.

The thing about AH is it's pretty much a flea market. There are often good deals, but you're gonna have to sift through a whole lot of BS to find them.

I think that this view is commonly held amongst a lot of players. If you have to wait three days to find out that the armor you just bought (and paid 12 copper less than the buyout price ) looks like fat Elvis' rhinestone jumpsuit with pit stains, you will be overjoyed at your savings right ? So yes, for many players the buyout is the price and it is what this thread is trying to help beginners figure out.

One important note however is that if you can eat or drink the item ( I. E. Carrot juice, beef wellington, or starfish eggs ) then people may bid on it. Many of the higher level casters seem to be addicted to spell point potions, I can only assume that they taste great, or they have trace amounts of cocain in them. They seem to bid on several stacks and then see which ones they get. It keeps a flow of spell flavored goodness ( or crack flavored death) coming their way at all times. Sure, in a pinch they might just buy them out, but it seems common enough for them to bid.

As for a flea market, the itching is all in the plan ....

Itchy scratchy yum......

[TWDiggs1980]

I think that this view is commonly held amongst a lot of players. If you have to wait three days to find out that the armor you just bought (and paid 12 copper less than the buyout price ) looks like fat Elvis' rhinestone jumpsuit with pit stains, you will be overjoyed at your savings right ? So yes, for many players the buyout is the price and it is what this thread is trying to help beginners figure out.

One important note however is that if you can eat or drink the item ( I. E. Carrot juice, beef wellington, or starfish eggs ) then people may bid on it. Many of the higher level casters seem to be addicted to spell point potions, I can only assume that they taste great, or they have trace amounts of cocain in them. They seem to bid on several stacks and then see which ones they get. It keeps a flow of spell flavored goodness ( or crack flavored death) coming their way at all times. Sure, in a pinch they might just buy them out, but it seems common enough for them to bid.

As for a flea market, the itching is all in the plan ....

Itchy scratchy yum......

Actually that is what irritates me is the prices on the major sp potions in the AH. Apparently the people that post them don't play healers I mean common 100kpp for a 10 stack but I end up buying them anyways and then go through them in 1 or 2 raids with pug groups. Heck I did a pug vod the other day and ended up going through 16 major pots and only one person said thks for keeping us up through that mess and gave me a couple pots to reimburse my loses. I had to create a haggle bard just to fund my cleric it is nutts but seriously people if your going to post pots in the AH think about it this way these pots might be going to the healer that is going to keep me alive in the raid tomorrow how much do I want to charge him to keep me alive so I can get that possible uber item. I don't ask for handout in raids and I don't think healers should ask for reimbursement but if they did a good job and you succeceded your raid toss them 5-10kpp or a major pot if you have one it's not much but you wouldn't be there without them.

[Paryan]

+1 for the 'kentucky fried movie' reference.

more to come when I have the opportunity next.
This thread is a /win.

+1 For someone else knowing this movie!

[TWDiggs1980]

+1 for the 'kentucky fried movie' reference.

more to come when I have the opportunity next.
This thread is a /win.

Ya same goes for me and that TWDiggs guy that has the issue about sp pot prices can go F himself. What gives ruining a perfectly funny thread buy posting a real gripe. The nerve of some A** Clowns.

[EKKM]

Great thread

Actually that is what irritates me is the prices on the major sp potions in the AH. Apparently the people that post them don't play healers I mean common 100kpp for a 10 stack but I end up buying them anyways and then go through them in 1 or 2 raids with pug groups. Heck I did a pug vod the other day and ended up going through 16 major pots and only one person said thks for keeping us up through that mess and gave me a couple pots to reimburse my loses. I had to create a haggle bard just to fund my cleric it is nutts but seriously people if your going to post pots in the AH think about it this way these pots might be going to the healer that is going to keep me alive in the raid tomorrow how much do I want to charge him to keep me alive so I can get that possible uber item. I don't ask for handout in raids and I don't think healers should ask for reimbursement but if they did a good job and you succeceded your raid toss them 5-10kpp or a major pot if you have one it's not much but you wouldn't be there without them.

I think you're doing it wrong. I don't pug on Khyber ... but 16 pots for vision?

[TWDiggs1980]

Great thread




I think you're doing it wrong. I don't pug on Khyber ... but 16 pots for vision?

Ya the pug group was **** usually 1 maybe 2 for vod but tank couldn't hold aggro and only like one person brought curse pots and that was like 20 and the other healer was craptastic. It was a complete mess I wanted to /rageguit halfway in but didn't.