Phase 3: Profit !

Thoughts and Blog

There was a saying that, 90% of the company opened will shut their door at its first year. I guess it goes true for blog as well, but in a much shorter span (one or two month I guess), so I was reserving strength for longevity, on the other hand, I would love to have one meaningful article per week, and some trivial report or idea in between.

Lucky or not, there was 4-5 blogs started on the very same topic in April, which form a nice community and reader awareness, on the other hand, it’s more-the-less harder to stand out in the mass.

I am not sure about the others, but I would be more focus on theory-crafting, that is, more detail about the reason behind their behavior rather than tactics articles, or business reports. The reasoning human behavior always subject to bias, since I can’t (and not have time to) find prove of them…. but hey, that’s what I am interested in

The 2-3 posts per week schedules I am trying to keep, so that I can had more time to tailor my idea before publishing. By the idea, I would have more and more idea around on my drafted post, and always had idea to work out. Sometimes there would be 2-3 weeks lag from the time the idea is formed and the post is created.

This will be my 39th post on Wow’s Econ. (Including Sunday Reports)
I didn’t write as frequent as Gevlon and Seth, but more-the-less like Larisa’s.
It would be nice if I can have a Bartender like Larisa or an Editor like BRK’s TJ.
And yet, this is a luxury dream for me…

Blog Downtime: We had some difficulties on the web server (The router actually). and my DNS seems failed to catch up the new ip address. Hopefully the router will behave itself now. Sorry for the downtime .

Blogosphere

I did made couple of friends in the process and many interesting blogs.
I get to know more people along the way. while it’s not so challenging to think up an interesting topic once a week, since interesting thing happens all around us anyway, but it really takes time to think about it, solidify the thoughts and write it down… I appreciate that from all my fellow bloggers.

Similar to Seth, I would like to start different column here soon, I don’t know if I can stick with the Thur is The Food Chain thing, but I would try to…
The problem of sticking to the schedule is that, it takes me much time to clean up the article, and my leisure time is pretty random, so maybe I’ll miss one or two column date, if I can’t tidy up the articles on time.

I don’t know if it’s because I get busy on life/work, or because I draft most of my article while I am traveling (On Train) I am having difficulties of organizing my thought into well-structured article. While I am trying to make them clear and stay focus, sometimes a thought will get its own way and developed a totally different article. That’s a strange experience.

Oh, and I’ll start take parts in one of the Seth’s column as well, let see what we can do there…

Business

the BLSH business is shrinking, and I am only selling the remaining stocks (can’t spot any sweet deal recently), that grant me about 100-200g per day.

I do gain more and more from the glyph business, buying the materials(Herbs), books (80-100g each) used up most of the revenue (I bought about 3-4 book a day) (Who said Education is cheap?), and I am heavily undercutting the others. Say, from auctioneer, the market price is 18-19g; I am willing to undercut it till 4-5g, which is 50% profit for the ink. (For the book of learning it yet, I need to sell 20-30 glyphs for the price of a book). I am listing 400-500 glyphs per day,

Subtracting the cost of the books and herbs, I still earn around 300-400 per day (which deduced I got 50-100 glyph sold every day). Pretty decent compare to the BLSH business. This may be not much compare to farming, but a good start for a profitable business.

The Fool

These are people who would buy [Tigule and Foror's Strawberry Ice Cream] on AH instead of buying from NPCs. We are had been The Fool sometime in the game, when we hadn’t got any prior knowledge of a given market. The main reasons of such ignorance is lack of resources (Without knowledge of wowhead nor had guild mate willing to tell them that) or lack of incentive to do so.

How the fools evolve

For lack of resources, it’s an easy fix, a direction of where to look at is enough. It’s easy for one to acquire knowledge nowadays, and A player which can play wow, must able to view the internet, don’t they? Some of them just lack the incentive to learn, they’ll remain as fool until it’s hurt, from my point of view being satisfy of being ignorance is a sin of itself. (“It’s just a game” is their motto)

Although, the fools evolve from time to time (Not being a fool again), they never extinct (There always fresh supply).

Incentive of learning

The lesser the penalty of being stupid (only 1g for not knowing there is an npc selling ice-cream), the lesser incentive of finding it out. The opposite is true too, the higher penalty, the higher incentive. (Without knowledge of an optimum dps rotation may lead to wipe of 25 decent gear’s repair bill, and a high social penalty of being the least dpser, even kick out from a raid)

I had came across many people who resist learning nor having excuse of them, as Gevlon put it- The M&S, and if any socialist help them or forces others to help them, they’ll prolong the resist on climbing the learning curve. As helping lower the penalty for being Ignorance, and sometimes even reward them for being incompetent (You earn gears upgrade from an instance run, if your gear sucks more).

How they affect the market

These are silly money to collect (or to milk in gevlon’s term), and you’ll be surprised how many Ice-creams one can sold in a single day in children week.

These people flood the market with cheap goods, or buy when the price is too high, and they don’t even notice it. They are the angle which gives high (if not the greatest) profit to traders, the also the market, with random behavior.

They can be steady source of profit, but which product they’re buying or selling will change by time to time.

Summary

I agree with Gevlon’s Idea that, stop helping those M&S. As this is the only way to make them help themselves.

How do one defeat ignorance ? To learn.

How do one defeat other’s ignorance ? Make them learn.

-Zekta

Delayed Report Actually

As Seth’s new column, I had a Monday Morning Hang-over, only for real.

This was a busy week for me. I came home at 12.am every night, and used up all my scheduled posts as well. I do take time to read other blog, but seldom had time to comment.

(I didn’t had time to reply every comment in my own blog for god sake >.<, sorry Seth)

My Sunday report post is kinda slacky, I was prepared to talk more about the inscription leveling stuff last week on the last paragraph. But I hadn’t got much time to write about it. I do have continue selling my glyphs and other trade everyday, which takes around 1-2 hour per day.

The Glyph Market

The glyph market is good in my server, but not great.

As a well-populated server, There are many scribe in the market. Although they aren’t actively selling all glyph(me neither). The most profitable one is very competitive, 5-6 person would be selling the same glyph. (which also drive the profit down).

I sell all level’s glyph, my profit margin is 50%+, I don’t sell any lower than that. This threshold would cut down half of the glyph I know. (I didn’t even learn glyph which prove not profitable while leveling). Which left me around 30-50 kind of glyphs to sell.
(Since I am pretty new there, the researches didn’t grant me many glyphs yet).

There are a big gap in researched glyph and trainer glyph (no doubt), researched normally go 8-10g, while trainer one only 3-4g.  (Adder Tongs is 12.5g/stack here, so the price of a ocean ink is around 1.1g, I treat Icy Ink as profit for milling)

The Book

is it worth it? the big question of all scribes. I had bought couples of books (8-9) since I am 400lv+… they are sold 90-110g each (The advantage of a well-populated server is price dropped fast). I would said it’s worth for me, but I’ll left this to the next report (OMG, slacking again!?) and definitely on the Darkmoon cards.

Will talk about mid-level inscription later, I promise .

Thoughts and Blogs

Trolls

I had got my first troll, and Gevlon talk about a type of trolls on his posts. I wasn’t expecting any troll on my blog by the time, so I was kinda upset. A nice commenter had show his/her support, I really appreciated that. I understand that on the internet, there are lots of people hide behind the net and harass others. (e.g. the ganker for instance. I am personal against ganking). But I am also rejoice when good people comes by and give you a hand.

BTW, thanks for Cassini for making my “total comments count” even, but I was so tempted to reply you there (thus make it odd again ), You give me an unstoppable laughing for 5 minutes , thanks mate.

Me

And Happy Birthday to me (on 21 May),
Thanks for my parents, and their parents, my Girl Friend… My friends and everyone I know. I love you… umm, well, most of you…

Blogosphere

I am listed on WoWenomics’ resource page, while I was just about to start to believe they forgotten me . Hey, I never been called an IPO, I am glad to be included! Thanks.

My Business

I found that I had little and little time on trading and game, for my lovely girl friend had come back to my city. (My bonny was over the ocean)
Which force me to take more profitable trade (per time) instead of satisify on a steady income. which is a nice thing I guess, the old trading start getting me bored

Market Shift

The 3.1 patches did change a lot, lots of experniced player had came back, trader included. The are much fewer decent deal now. Therefore I am clearing up the Buy Low Sell High Stockpiled goods now. Increased demand and supply balanced themselve on price, so it’s more-the-less do not change, however my selling become much faster as the market is more active now.

Inscription

As mentioned before, I had drop my enchanting and start my inscription career this week. I spent around 1000g for the herbs and inks for up my skill, on crafting glyphs and stockpiled ink for the production (Monday buying spree for the Northern herbs: Especially Adder’s Tongue).

Nice to have business with you, mon

Spamming Channel or Gold panning field?

I know, many people hate channel and I was one of them.
I even /leave trade when my alts first got into city.

But, it’s very different for me now.

End of Spam, Beginning of Gold Mine – The Second Chat Log

I got a second chat log frame solely for chat channel, and get it off the main chat log frame (And this really help a lot, and I recommend on that)
And yes, people will keep spamming it with the same sentience again, again and again.

But once in a while, just once in a while, something very different will happens. I got a [Proto-Drake Whelp] for 100g and resale if for 400g the week after. I got four [Frostweave Bag] at 40g, while immediate reselling in AH for 68g.

Rusher do announce on the trade channels, when they need for leveling, or get rid of the goods, they annouce in trade channel. And also for the fellow trader wish to get rid of goods.

The Talking

Some people like direct trade since they can squeeze more from the seller. I normally avoid that, since it gives a bad reputation around.  What I do is to ask around if the buyer/seller who are willing talk about it. It’s free for them, but I’ll get to know more about what’s going on.

The Leveling Crafter:

• What’s in demand, why is he buying but not on the AH.
• What’s in need when they raise a certain profession especially when you are not familiar of them.

• And Chances are,

• they’ll need some other goods very soon as well.

The (Rushing) Farmer :

• These poor souls had no other methods for making money, or at least not willing to learn about it
• they’ll keep supply goods when they are in need of money, so forming a COD relationship with them is great. Or at least tell them to look for you instead of yelling at trade channel. If your pricing is right, they’ll probably come back

Fellow Trader or (Long Term) Famer:

• What profession he’s in, and goods that possible will interest him. (E.g. a Epic-Trader will always found interested on [Titansteel Bar])
• It’s good to know if ever there are goods I’ll need to get rid of, I’ll know who to ask first

Bye bye Mammoth Cutters

It’s a short update for one of my business. (Since it’s a little short for today post of just for the new column announcement) I am getting out of the Mammoth Cutters; competitor had driven the market to the same price of the maker (only 3g+ per maker, while normally one sold in two days).
(Although the maker still have profit on 5g from materials.)

Occasionally, people talk about, “I own the market”, “I dominated the trade of X”, or something like, “it’s a pvp thingy”. I can understand why they meant for winning and losing, just to add some spicy to the boring trading game, but IMO involving emotion on trade is not a good thing to do.

It’s simple, if there are price war on a business, the profit margin will decrease. Consider the limited amount of time I got, if there is any other thing that is more time-efficient for gold, I’ll switch.

The Mammoth Cutters used to generate 15g per night for 5-10 minutes of work (Travel from AH to Forge included) but now decreased to 2.5g per night. While I have option to sell another extra glyph will cover the loss.

Why Bother?