Greedy Goblin

Friday, February 6, 2009

Challenge a goblin!

140K last week.

20K/week for the 4th week in a row. No sign that tells this week will be any different. That means money cap within a month.

On the one hand it's a great success, I've proven my point: you can make much-much more money by trading than any kind of farming.

On the other hand its a great nerf to my blog. The last useful information on the WoW economy is two weeks old and was rather a random idea than really serious advice.

The last idea I use myself is three weeks old.

My original idea was luring visitors by providing useful business information. Use this popularity to spread individualistic and capitalist ("selfish") ideas as I'm sure that a society based on these is the best for the mankind. My idea was that by trying out these tips in WoW, people will get a first-hand experience in being a successful businessman. They will see that our own work can bring us much further, than any "ferindly helpfull ppl".

Capitalism needs competition. I don't know why nobody tries to take a piece of my 20K/week businesses. Maybe there are no businessmen rolled characters on my server. Maybe they are scared by my 140K, finding it pointless to even attempt to compete me (how wrong they are!).

Anyway to keep the blog running, I need new challenges. I found two. The first is simple:

Dear readers, please find me a new server/side! It must be EU and not closed for character creation, but no other restrictions apply. Find me the one you think it's impossible to make money. Maybe because it's a newly created server or because it's the most populated. Maybe because it has 50 money-capped tycoons. Your call! The server and side the most of you suggest will be my new area of action. I'll start a new character there. With 1 copper in my bag I will start making business. You'll see how that copper turns into tens of thousands of gold.

The second challenge involves my main. I'll stop making new businesses here (I'm all set for two expansions I guess), I have a brand new plan. It was motivated by a certain crew who believe I mock them because I want them to answer, driving visitors to my site. They are wrong. I'm targeting them, because they are the loudest supporters of the idea that I find very harmful in the world. And finally I have an idea how to deal with them (not personally, but the whole kind of them).

25 comments:

LarĂ­sa said...

Believe it or not, but I find it much more fun to spend a night wiping at Malygos than to spend a night at AH. I've got about 3.5 k gold and that's ok with me. If I get an upgrade I can buy gems without getting broke and if I haven't had time to farm consumabels I've got enough so I can do a last-minute-purchase at AH, making a businessman like you happy.

We've chosen to focus on different aspects of the game. And I'm glad that the 120 k gold makes you so happy because in spite of - or maybe because - we have some different opinions - I like you. So a happy Gevlon is a Good thing in my world.

It sounds like you've grown a bit bored though and you definitely need new challanges. I don't know what the second is about, you sound a bit mystical, but I guess we'll find out in time. Maybe you'll try to run your own guild/raid business, according to your ideas about paying participents in gold, running it like a company?
About finding a new home for a level 1: actually I don't think Stormrage, where I live, meets your criteria at all. It's an old established realm, nothing special really. What I can offer though is me. A friendsly voice, someone to say hi to. And another of your readers, Cassini, lives here too. He's pretty much into AH business, following your advice. Maybe you'll get some competition there.

Anonymous said...

Well, maybe your competitors are simply not putting the same effort as you do :) I know at least one person who doesn't...

Yes, I do play on the same realm and faction as you do (Arathor EU, Horde), and possibly you have seen me undercutting a few of your auctions (on Yocosha, Yocolda or Zuq). But I only spend time on AH-ing and even trying to make money when I'm "in the mood". Owning a solid 30-40% of all glyph auctions on the AH like you do is kindof hard to beat though, my activities are mere peanuts compared to that.

I greatly enjoy all the tips you have given in the past months of course - they are nice for anyone, but for someone on the same AH as you they are personalized advice :)

As for other realms, how about Stormrage EU alliance side? That's where my (few) alliance characters live.

Anonymous said...

O.o Interesting to see how the first two comments point to the same realm.

Some more info on Stormrage EU alliance side: it is indeed not a new realm; on the contrary: it is an ancient realm (opened when WoW launched in europe, 11 february 2005). One of my notable experiences auctioning stuff there was last week when my fresh scribe DK found her mailbox full of 'fanmail': someone had sent me 50 posts containing a lowlevel gray dagger. Without any comments. I guess someone must have disliked me undercutting a few glyph sales...

Anonymous said...

My challenge would be Magtheridon alliance side. The reason it's a challenge is that it's a tiny community, heavily outnumbered by horde.

I'd be interested in your experience in making money in a very small faction, when you can't assume that there will be a wide spread of customers for you at all times.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the above. Magtheridon Ally side is the ultimate challenge. I believe they're outnumberd by about 1000:1

Anonymous said...

I confirm, eu.Magtheridon alliance side...
The only way you're ever going to do something there is through neutral AH and, seeing as you said you're picking a side this would seem to me against the rules you set.

Anonymous said...

Maggy EU has open free transfur though, I would keep an eye on stats to keep updated on that one.

My own current server i'm struggling a bit (sporeggar EU, horde side) it appears we are having an issue with our own recession, myself making a massive loss recently due to massive undercuts (my ore and belt buckle business got hammered, instant cuts of over 27g due to a massive undercut spree by a player) this has forced alot of prices for many things tumbling. cutting the value of most things by up to 80%, tryed flipping but in turn lost about 250g because of nother massive undercut.

Though saying that, this has only recently started, I have no idea if this will continue and don't think it will, prices are so low atm they can only go up.

Anonymous said...

TBH, I don't think even the neutral AH on Maggy-EU would help. Considering the whole population of the server is on Horde side, I would doubt many people look at the Neutral AH at all, except maybe Alliance buying from Horde... but you're playing on Alliance anyway it won't make a differance.

I think I read at one point, that there is one raiding guild on Alliance side, and they have less than 50 members. There might be some more social or casual guilds, but it gives you an idea of the scale of the challenge.

Carra said...

Stormrage EU doesn't offer that much competition either.

As to why? I'm quite sure most people prefer to raid, do instances, achievements, pvp, arena's... instead of spending hours on the AH. There's little incentive to do it, you make more gold then you can spend. And those who do will just corner one piece of the market. And usually get bored with it after a while, at some point you have so much gold that there's no use in continueing.

Seeing how the profit comes from other people, making gold on a realm with almost no people should be near impossible. On realms with a lot of people, there's always something to sell.

Anonymous said...

I would LOVE it if you would come to Hellfire. I tried to start up an auction house gold source for mutiple times but evrey time i had the idear that there where to many others!
ide like to see how you do it there ;P

Anonymous said...

Come to Al'Akir if it's cut-throat competition you are after.

Tobold said...

Naaah to all of those suggestions, they aren't challenging enough to Gevlon. If you want to prove you can succeed in a cutthroat environment I challenge you to play EVE Online. It has much better business tools (like buy orders etc.) too! And a lot more highly competitive people willing to engage in all sorts of questionable behavior, with a lot less M&S, as those have been weeded out a long time ago.

megan said...

Looks like it's been decided, you're coming to Bloodhoof-US.

Syd said...

So, you're going to continue flaming the posts at the Matticus site?

You know, we've got our own approach to things. We're raiders, and we try to put out something positive for the community. Now, that's fine if you want to try to get in a flame war over it, and I will admit, that I'm a little perturbed at it, but I'm never going to understand. I think you've got the wrong idea about Matticus--we're not actually advocating communist principles. We're trying to provide a perspective on playing the game successfully--measured in PvE boss kills and guild contentment. It's a very different world from what you describe, because we're essentially running a social club and social activity. Interpersonal skills aren't necessarily communist, and in our little club of friends that happen to raid, reciprocity is really important. I actively want to look out for my friends' interests. That doesn't mean I'm opposed to making some gold on the AH. In fact, I hate farming, and I make my money pretty much the same way you do, just in less volume, because I only put a few minutes a day into it.

Here's my challenge to you. Why don't you seek out raiding success in Wrath? You see, endless pugging, even if you're master looter, won't get you the best loot in the game.

My challenge: apply to a raiding guild and play the game their way. Try it out, and report your success on the blog when you've acquired a wardrobe comprised of tier pieces and best in slots. Of course, it's not that hard these days! But I believe it might be hard for you to stick with it--and be nice to people--long enough to build up dkp. And tell us if you make a friend or two--I would think that possibility alone would make it worth it.

Gevlon said...

@Yoco: no doubt that I traded much more than it made sense. I did it for the blog as example. Your trading behavior is the normal.

@Suggestion makers:
4 votes for ally-EU
1 Hellfire
1 Al'Alkir

@Tobold: I'm planning on starting playing EVE "as a game" for my own amusement. The blog has another purpose and it binds me to WoW. I'd like to show the people that business makes their life much easier. EVE players already know it. Most WoW players don't, and it's my sacred duty to save them from the grasp of altruism :-)

@Megan: If you provide me a place to live and money to buy food, drink, internet, I'll move to the US so I can play on your server. Otherwise I'll have to stick to EU servers :-)

Tobold said...

I'd like to show the people that business makes their life much easier.

Hmmm, too bad it doesn't, at least not always. I'm pretty certain the 140k you earned last week did not make your life any easier, as there is nothing you could possibly spend it on that would help you character. So how about a post on spending gold instead of about earning it?

Anonymous said...

If you're someone like me who is usually too lazy to farm for a few hours buying consumables, then having 140k gold would make your WoW experience easier, in my opinion.

Spending gold is not hard. There is crafted gear you can buy for your alts, there are mounts that you can spend 30k+ on buying, not to mention if you have more gold than you can spend since you have all you want and need;you can start helping friends out by buying their mounts or donating to a guild bank.

Anonymous said...

When you state that you make more money trading than farming may be true but the bottom line is you are putting time and effort in making money.

It's very similar to real life in that you choose to be in retail instead of lets say, growing corn.

Nevertheless, I do exactly what you do from a business standpoint to make gold in the game. I definitely do not spend as much time as you so therefore I do not have as much revenue but it's more than enough to "live" off of for a long time.

Now, as previous commentors have stated, it's a matter of "your" choice in how you want to spend your time. I congratulate you in feeling a sense of accomplishment to make so much gold within the game.

Others, like myself, choose to achieve other goals, such as clearing all raid content. My guild which I'm an officer of have officially cleared everything including 10m 3D Sart. On top of that I spend my time PVPing to be in the top 10 teams in 2v2 and 3v3 on Stormstrike BG.

Every aspect in the game to achieve a certain level requires time and resources. Besides making money, what else have you achieved within the game that has so many dimensions besides playing the AH?

The challenge of choosing a certain server to make gold on is a waste of time IMO since you will have to level a character, only to make gold for which you have no intention of spending.

All in all, I hope you spend as much time if not more in RL making real money.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't matter what server you're on, I challenge you to make gold with a completely unorthodox method you've never used before rather than the skills you've already built.

Carra said...

Nice idea, Tobold.

How about a post "How to spend 100.000 gold". And yes, wasting it on mounts is not a good idea :)

Anonymous said...

May I offer a suggestion? Start a Millionaire's School! Seriously,,, create a group of players that you mentor either by visiting their server to give them strategies on their AH or that you meet with once a week or every other week. Teach basics, specific market strategies, share ideas... and in the process replicate yourself through other people. If you do this, I would be interested; Balthazshar on Ghostlands-US.

Anonymous said...

@ Larisa: You confuse me with someone else I fear. My character was on Draenor else I'd surely have been /w you to steal you away and into the same guild as me! :) Not to mention that I, like you, played for fun, and making more money than I needed to fund my raiding was relatively pointless.

@ Gevlon: Sorry for the off-topic, especially since I can see you've already rolled on Magtheridon, but I couldn't let a comment from the pink one go unreplied too - what would that say about my good manners? :)

Amava said...

I'm curious to see what your new project, aimed at Matticus, his co-bloggers, and his guild Conquest, is all about. Luckily that team has a thick skin, so your abrasive approach will have little impact, while providing entertainment for your readers and some semi-intelligent debate for us to think about.

The only thing I hope though, is that your project is aimed at comparing apples to apples.

In all of your posts so far, you compare everything to Gold per Hour or Epics per Hour for an individual.

If your new project is in any way trying to illustrate that Matticus and Company yield less gold/hour or epics/hour than your proposed techniques, then you fail before you even start.

The currency that Conquest trades in is the ability to kill PvE bosses efficiently. Gear (to kill faster) and Gold (to pay for repairs/enchants/consumables) are means to an end.

Your posts on competitive activities like gold earning are very enlightening. Your posts on cooperative activities like raiding have really not taught your readers anything.

If you can apply your economic / goblin thought process, and show how to more efficiently kill PvE bosses, then you will truly have given something to the community.

Sun CRm said...

"Gevlon @Megan: If you provide me a place to live and money to buy food, drink, internet, I'll move to the US so I can play on your server. Otherwise I'll have to stick to EU servers :-)"

You dont have to :).
In our guild (Quel`Thalas`EU) we have one member which is.. from North of NYC (USA). Yes, no lies! He bought his retail WOW when he was on holidays in UK (was not very accurate) :). Laugh or not, its still not the end of story: we have him (-5 hours CET), major group of guildees (0 CET) me (+1h CET), and some guys from far far Syberia in Russia (+5hours CET) - we still find time to raid 3-4 times a week for 3-4hours. I would call it quite "Xtreeme".

The other thing to tell: i knew it will come to the end "the golden days of cobalt, saronite and titanium bars" one or the other day.. But its still sad to hold like 350 stacks, as prices dropped 70-80% in couple days only - and this is massive effect.
Any investigation? Or suggestion what to do?

James Anthony said...

Roll on Karazhan-EU alliance side. It's vastly underpopualted and the AH is practicaly empty...I challenge you to make 10k+ gold on such a low pop server.