Buy 'Em Up

I haven't written anything here for a while for the obvious reasons: new xpac on its way, hardly anyone is playing, etc, etc. But, now that we're roughly a month from MoP's launch, I thought it was high time to get back into this.

It is currently the best time to buy. Many people who were in the transmog gear flipping game have given up or stopped playing. This has made the market far less competitive and will lead to long term profits for those of us who are sticking it out. And, since many have lost interest in xmog-flipping, xmog gear prices are lower than ever. People are either trying to get rid of the xmog gear they couldn't sell off earlier in Cataclysm or are just selling green BoEs at reasonable prices for their levels.

So, in this post I have decided to list all of the items I've been buying up to sell off in MoP. Here they are:

Overlord's Plate Set (one of my absolute favorite sets).

Vanguard Plate Set (another popular re-color of the Glorious set).

Conqueror's Plate Set

Bloodscale Plate Set

Swashbuckler's Eyepatch

Bonechewer Garb

Gossamer Set (there is also a robe option)

Hibernal Robe (this one is more common than Venomshroud or Arachnidian, but still sells well)

These are the transmog gear items that I have found sell for pretty high prices but are currently easy to find for very cheap. I have multiples of each of these in my banks. Also, be sure to check out my "Top Selling Items" posts for more gear names to search the AH for.

Good luck on flipping that transmog gear!

The Neutral Auction House

One of the best ways you can go about finding cheaply priced transmog items is checking on the neutral auction house. I'm fairly certain most people don't know/have forgotten about these, but they do exist. The Horde and the Alliance can sell items to one another at Gadgetzan, Booty Bay and Everlook.

Most people who use this are trying to transfer goods from one toon to another across factions. (Btw, I really don't approve of sniping people who are trying to do this). However, you will occasionally find goods for reasonable, but cheap prices. I'm pretty sure that everyone who uses the neutral AH is aware that it goes unused most of the time, and that when gear is listed, it is typically for under 20 gold.

On my server, where there is a huge imbalance of Horde and Alliance players, there is also a huge imbalance in AH prices for transmog items. What goes for a high price on the Horde side typically doesn't sell for much on the Alliance side, where there are far fewer buyers. So, when you come across Alliance sellers on the neutral AH, you can usually find things that are under-priced in terms of the Horde AH. This is something you can, obviously, benefit from when you are trying to buy low and sell high. And, as I mentioned in an earlier post, now is the time to buy!

I promise to get back to posting more often soon. I am insanely busy right now, and not much has changed in the xmog market. But I will be back!

Chan's Imperial Robes

 

So, I just got back from an out of town conference, and I found this waiting for me at the auction house. 

I cannot tell you how excited I was when I saw Chan's Imperial Robes listed for only 12k. This item is extremely rare and is rumored to no longer be available in the game (no one is really quite sure which it is). On average, it goes for 143k on Horde US servers. People have been known to server transfer just to get their hands on this item (even pre-patch 4.3). So, even though it cost me a good chunk of my gold, I went for it and am now working to re-sell it for 76k (a very reasonable price).

I am excited to have had the opportunity to have owned this item (even if it only turns out to be for a short time). Mostly, I hope it will sell and make me a great profit but, if not, you can bet your bottom dollar I will be xmogging into this. I am going to give it until a week or two into MoP before I do that, though, as I'm sure I can sell it for at least 65k.

This has been my first big risk purchase. As I have mentioned in the past, I don't normally buy for over 50g. This was definitely worth it though. I will post as soon as it sells!

*If you're interested in buying, it will be listed on the US Horde Mal'Ganis AH in the coming weeks.*

P.S.

Want to xmog into or sell this, but can't find it on your server? Try for one of its green re-colors, which go for decent prices and look very pretty:

Hibernal Robe, Arachnidian Robe, Venomshroud Silk Robes

How to Bid

Taking advantage of low bid prices on items with high buyout prices can lead to amazing rewards. Just today, I bought a transmog item which regularly sells for 200g at a price of only 3s. That was a great feeling.

If you aren't careful, though, you can bid up an item so much that it winds up just below the buyout. It is incredibly important to avoid doing so.

Being good at bidding is all about timing. One of the most important things to notice when bidding on an item (aside from the price) is its time frame. First, it is important to know how long auction lengths are. Here is a list of auction length time frames:

• Short - Less than 30 minutes.
• Medium - Between 30 minutes and 2 hours.
• Long - Between 2 hours and 12 hours.
• Very Long - Between 12 hours and 48 hours.

Knowing this, you can begin to predict when it might be a good time to bid. Obviously, the shorter the time frame, the better off you are, because others are not given as much time to bid against you. If you see an item with a bid price under 10g and a "short" auction length, be sure to bid immediately (after checking its selling price on Undermine, of course).

In addition, it is extremely helpful to watch these time frames shift. If you see an auction time go from "long" to "medium," you know you have 2 hours until the auction is up. In such a case, you can return to the item, say, an hour and forty-five minutes later and put a last bid or two on it. I wouldn't really recommend sitting around and watching an item's auction time if it has a "long" or "very long" time frame, though... could get kind of boring. :P

So why all of this emphasis on time? The whole hope with bidding is that you won't be outbid. As I said, the longer an item is listed, the more time you have to be outbid. And if you do get caught up in a bidding war, prices can rise quickly. My advice in these situations is to wait it out.

If someone outbids you, don't immediately run to the auction house and outbid them back (if you do, I can promise they will do the same). Instead, make a mental note of it (or keep a piece of paper on your desk), check the auction time if you can't remember how long is left and wait as long as you possibly can. You want to make your competitor think you have given up or gone offline. This will keep the bidding price low for an extended period of time. Then, you can come back after a few hours, bid a small amount and then quickly get to re-listing.

I would also not recommend bidding on an item with a "very long" auction time unless the bid price is still extremely low and/or you are on during your server's off hours. Otherwise, it is simply not worth it.

Well, best of luck with bidding! More to come!

Top Selling Items: Part 2

 

From left to right: Jade Set, Hyperion Set, Lofty Set

These are three top selling plate sets. They are all incredibly popular and are, again, low level uncommons. It is very likely that you will see one of these pieces pop up for a super low bidding price or a buyout of under 50g. They are worth getting into fierce bidding wars over, as they will definitely sell and you can get at least 200g for any of these pieces. (Chests and pants tend to be listed at much higher prices).

Make sure to type each of these set names into your auction browser every time you log on. Also, be sure to look for their recolors: Saltsone, Commander's, and Glorious

Good luck!

My New Outfit: Astralaan Robe

Just wanted to make a quick post about my most recent transmog set. I used the robe as the focal point and went from there. You may have seen in one of my earlier posts that I have become the queen of these robes on my server. I hope someone sees me running around in this and decides they want one too!

Anyway, here's what I'm wearing:

Robe: Astralaan Robe

Helm: Mooncloth Cowl

Shoulders: Aurora Mantle

Belt: Netherweave Belt

Gloves: Energis Armwraps

Feet: Shimmering Boots

Main hand: Revitalizing Hammer

Off hand: Gossamer Rod (one of my favorite items in the game)

Mogging and MoP

Don't you just love that artwork? So cute.

Anyway, as we all know, the Mists of Pandaria expansion is on its way to a release date sometime this year. There are many exciting changes coming along, not the least of which are the new Pandaren. And with a new character type comes new gear (and new player expectations of how those toons should be geared). Between all of the info on Blizzard's site and the start of beta testing, players have already begun to form conceptions of what a Pandaren and what a monk should look like. Now is the time to start collecting items that people may want to transmog into later in order to fit these ideal looks (like the Ginn-Su Sword, which looks just like the one the panda in the above picture is wearing). Think about what you would wear if you were cosplaying a Pandaren monk.  Are there any key characters to the Pandaren storyline who you would try to emulate? Would you want to wear the low-level starting gear? Get into the role playing mindset and go from there. Also, as soon as the xpac goes live, we need to start collecting those BOEs.

The new expansion also affects non-panda toon gear. Why? Not every player is changing their gear set every few weeks. Some people just weren't as excited about the addition of transmogrification in patch 4.3 as I was. As such, those who have been busy with the other aspects of game (or who have taken a break) may not have switched out their xmog gear at all in the last few months. This has slowed down the market a bit (but hasn't stopped it - people will always be leveling alts).

But, once MoP hits, and players begin to collect new tier gear, chances are high that people will finally be looking to switch up their attire (which they have probably grown sick of by this point). This puts those of us working the transmog AH market in a good position. It is a buyer's market. Snatch up every under-priced piece of xmog gear you can find and hold onto it. Invest in these items now, and you will see a great payoff once patch 5.0 rolls around.

Don't just quit selling altogether. You don't want to go broke from buying everything and selling nothing. Like I said, there are always alts. And you don't want to deprive people of pretty gear, do you? If you are selling now, just expect to be undercut by other players who are also stocking up on the same gear you are (and may be manipulating the market in order to get others to under price items they know that they can buy up and profit off of down the line).

You also may not want to buy every piece of the same item that pops up. Remember that you are trying to make a profit, not become the master of all Astralaan Robes (something that I am guilty of). If you find yourself stuck with too many of the same item, release them into the AH slowly over time. Rarity (and thus individuality) is just as important to players as aesthetic appeal is.

Well, it is time for me to stop looking at xmog and start reading over strats for HM Hagara, which I will be putting in my first attempts on tonight.