trexrabbit, Icecrown US

Thurs. 3 Mar., Day 14   

Total gold acquired:  10,962
Average gold per day: 843 (high: 843)

Scans: 11:18, 23:51 (late)

I’M SO EXCITED!
I just got me DSA back from Vector, and it has the information I need to move up to the “next level” of pipeline – buy @ 5-25 gold each or per stack, for me.  YIPPEE!!

Here are some of the things DSA has done for me:
I AM *** SO  **** EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vektor’s provided the answer to a question I haven't been able to solve (except by tedious, niche by niche looking) - what should I test at the "next level" of pipeline (for me buy @ 5-25g each or per stack).

AND, on looking at the two spreadsheets, stack and single, a lightbulb suddenly went on:  an item that sells for a small amount in singles can still be a useful pipeline!  I "knew" this intellectually, but not viscerally, so it was hard for me to act on it.  I call these AHA moments...Eureka moments, maybe, to other folks.

I've never before been able to use MGB ideas, except a few about target buy / sell prices.  Too much information, too much tracking.  It overwhelms me.  Vektor had made it possible for me.  And FUN!

I greatly appreciate the immediate turn-around from Vektor, too!

ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS ABOUT PIPELINES:
*When to change TS price?  Never go below TS.  Go above if market is moving well at your TS price (high volumes, for that item; e.g. high might be 1/week for one item; 20 stacks of 20 for another)

*How many to post?
-when first testing a potential pipeline, 1 each of useful stack sizes
-next level of testing, 4 of each stack size
-confirmed pipeline, increase amount until all except 1 stack sells in a day (of each stack size).  This may differ significantly between week days / weekends

DAILY ROUTINE: CHANGES
-check all my pipelines, using Buy list, before going to mailbox.  Cancel auctions that are posted too high (because market appeared to be way above my TS price) or are in excess amount
-this let’s me pick up everything I need from the mailbox/bank at one time (if my bags are big enough, lol)
-next, post items to all my pipelines, using my pipeline/potential pipeline list that I keep in a text (Word) document


NEW IDEAS
1)TS calculations:  set up a small Excel spreadsheet.  I enter my buy price, and it calculates target sell prices for stacks of 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20.  Then COPY the stack size/TS column block into my text data sheet!  IT’S FAST!

WHAT’S NEXT?
Items from DSA analysis

MORE NICHES / PIPELINES TO LOOK AT
-Darkmoon cards – oh, I’m having fun with these!
-watch calico cat, albino snake, obsidian hatchling (cost 50g each)
savage leather, greater celestial essence, hypnotic dust, heavenly shard, embersilk cloth, elementium ore, cata herbs

----------

SOLD (net prices)
Nightmare Vine
Light Leather  ** lots sold!
Dream Shard
Goldthorn
Parrot Cage: Senegal
Ancient Lichen
Schematic: Green Firework
Six of Storms
Cat Carrier (Silver Tabby)
Eight of Undeath
Six of Chaos
Stranglekelp
Cat Carrier (Orange Tabby)
Cat Carrier (Cornish Rex)
Cat Carrier (Bombay)
Yellow Moth Egg
Recipe: Mightfish Steak
Recipe: Smoked Sagefish
Blue Moth Egg
Parrot Cage (Cockatiel)
Vanishing Powder
Greater Cosmic Essence
Raw Greater Sagefish
Eternium Ore
Large Prismatic Shard
(1155)

Five of Elementals
Greater Cosmic Essence
Large Prismatic Shard
(64)

Total gold acquired:  13,777
Average gold per day: 984 (high: 984)

Scans: 01:17, 08:06, 13:25, 00:44

*Darkmoon Faire starts on Sunday 6 Mar

I’M SO EXCITED!
I THINK I’VE GOT IT!!
And it’s FUN!
I have clarified how to make MGB work for me.
I can write down how I do things!, meaning that I can make this easy – no more wondering if I’m doing the right thing.
I’m using MGB conservatively, and that’s just fine.

I’ve posted these descriptions below.  Jon’s videos certainly explain better.  My descriptions reflect my understading of Jon’s information, combined with my experience in the AH and information from other MGBers.


ACTIONS
-record descriptions of how I do things
-daily routine
-recipe: roasted moongraze tenderloin finally sold for 249g.  Got 1 more.  I already have all of the tenderloins.
-set up Reagent Restocker (flask in slide bar) for Darkmoon Faire (herbs, light leather, ? arctic fur and other leathers)….Hmmm, easier to set up than xxxxx, but:  can’t control how much it puts into/takes out of the bank (it keeps taking bruiseweed out of the bank, when I don’t need it!)
-used DSA to make 3 Buy lists for single items with Market Width 100% or greater, sales volume of 5 or more.  Buy lists are for Low prices of 50-41g, 40-36g, 35-30g.  (glyphs, enchanting scrolls, cut gems, JC/ armor)


ADDONS: Postal, Auctioneer, Auctionator, Beancounter, Pipeline/Purchogram, Altoholic


HOW DO I DEVELOP PIPELINES?
-decide what price level I want (e.g. buy @ 5-25g, or 100-150g)
-find > use DSA!!; markets that I know; other people’s pipelines (careful, if they’re on my server; e.g., Jon’s Pipeline of the Dau, MGB speed runs and forums); Undermine Journal; look at a different niche
-monitor using Market Watcher and Undermine Journal
-buy a few and post to test (Buy price from Pipeline/Purchogram; TS is twice B)
-if they sell, within the cycle time, buy more and post more to confirm
-determine, then modify TB and modify TS until I’m selling and buying regularly (bearing in mind the cycle)
-determine sales volumes
-buy enough stock @ TB to sell most @ TS


HOW DO I DETERMINE CYCLE (pattern of buy and sell prices, amounts)?
-record amount to post, by stack size
-note weekend/weekday if on a weekly cycle
e.g., 8x5, 4x20  weekend  (means: Post 8 stacks of 5 and 4 stacks of 20 on the weekend; don’t need to record numbers for weekdays, simply post 1 less each day)
-use UJ to estimate longer cycles and note this
e.g., 10d cycle (means 10 day cycle; check daily for TB, TS prices)
e.g., irregular cycle (means: watch for price to approach TS and post some when it is close; post lots when market reaches TS)


HOW DO I USE PIPELINE/PURCHOGRAM?
*use low prices, width and volume to decide if I want to enter market –
-Lo increases as I ramp up daily sales amount, keeping some lower Lo for high DVol items (wool cloth being an example)
-minimum W 200%
-higher W for low DVol, so I don’t tie up capital?
*decide initial Buy price
-eyeball an “average” of lower end prices, with highest total sales (not % sales); for high volume items, ignore stack sizes with few sales (e.g. ignore 5 of 9, compared to 43 of 113)
*set initial Target Sell price as twice Buy price
-confirm that this is less than or equal to Hi (maximum high) price


HOW DO I USE THE UNDERMINE JOURNAL?
-use market price graph to approximate cycle
-use sold volume graph to confirm cycle


HOW DO I USE BEANCOUNTER?
-count number of each stack size sold on selling days in the cycle; record these so that I know how many to post  (Auctions)
-decrease Target Sell price, if none of my items are selling during sell phase of cycle; don’t revise TS for items that sell infrequently
-perhaps increase TS if all of my items are selling, depending on current market Low and High prices
-set a Target Buy price, revising my initial Buy price up or down, based on actual sell (Auctions) and buy (Bids) prices; maximum TB is half of TS price
-use amount sold to decide how much stock to buy (if I can buy below my TB price, buy up to a month’s supply of items that sell on a daily, weekly or biweekly cycle?)


WHAT DO I RECORD? (extra addon: Altoholic)
Example:
* Wool Cloth  (TB 0.45   TS 1 [1.5])    (3cloth = 1 bolt)
P 3x20, 5x3 during week
545
daily fluctuations

*= confirmed pipeline
TB = Target Buy price
TS = Target Sell price
[xx] occasionally, I record a higher TS price, if there is a big difference at different times in the cycle and if it is worth selling at the lower TS > usually a high volume, high volatility item
-occasionally, extra information, such as how item is used, transmute equation
P = post
3x20 is number of stacks x stack size
-how many I have in stock
-cycle type
NB > this information is gradually collected as the pipeline is developed.  Start with:  ? instead of *;  B = Buy price;  TS = twice Buy price;  first amount and stack size posted; cycle type


MY DAILY ROUTINE
-GetAll scan; record time and time for next scan (< 12 hours apart).  NB > some day I’ll figure out how to make Jon’s approach work for me (don’t scan until after I’ve posted items, so that my posting price is in the Appraiser tab and I don’t have to look it up)
-MarketWatcher scan (<12 hours apart); use this to decide when to buy and sell items that have long cycles (> 2 weeks); record items to start test sales on
-mailbox: collect items
-record sold items in mailbox; put * beside items with frequent sales
-collect sold items
-record total amount of gold received
-immediately check that I am undercutting or posting @ TS price for specific (high priced) items
-then post those items that have sold
-use Buy list (Auctionator) to find pipeline items to buy; buy them all at once, now that I have TS prices, so that I don’t have to run back and forth to the mailbox; go to mailbox immediately if I’m doing something unusual or time dependent (such as undercutting on a big ticket item, so that I don’t lose that 1 sale a month!)
-buy and post vendor items, if I’m selling them
-use separate Buy lists for herbs (tier 3 and BC, possibly tier 2), frozen orbs (I have trading toon in Dal), Darkmoon Faire cards

SOLD
Nightmare Tear, Precise Cogwheel, recipe: roasted moonglaze tenderloin
Darkmoon cards / decks, Enchants
Usual stuff: light leather, wool cloth, herbs, pets, dusts, some recipes

Sat. 5 Mar., Day 16   

Total gold acquired:  15097
Average gold per day: 1006 (high: 1006)

Scans: 00:44, 09:19, 17:55

** reporting day!

NEW
1)I’m increasing the price of my vendor items.  Should I do this? Or follow the market on weekends, when prices drop.  Again, I fear empty mailbox syndrome.

GLYPHS
-glyphs are doing their normal: cycling up and down
-others are posting @ 118 and 90 when the market drops, which is ok by me
-On my main server, I usually post @ 265, because a lot of people will drop the price by 60g (automated posting?), so starting @ even 180 leads to low prices, fast.
-maybe, for GSR, I should have stuck to glyphs for 1-5g each. I could have turned most of them around at even 10g.


SELLING ON WEEKENDS
-For the first time, I am posting at high prices during the weekend, for items such as wool cloth, tier 2 herbs, low prices dusts, shards and essences.
-Is this a good strategy?
-I assume I can sell these during the week at my TS prices.  I worry about having an empty mailbox tomorrow morning….
-BUT, GSR is where I said I would learn, and try new things!

Total gold acquired:  16,749
Average gold per day: 1047 (high: 1047)

Scans: 00:30, 04:05, 12:36, 23:36

*Darkmoon Faire starts today!


ACTIONS
1)Set up Darkmoon Faire lists:
a)patterns, recipes, schematics from Greater and Lesser Prize – I can’t get them easily, but they may be posted low
b) items needed to turn-in for tickets; for L40, added items needed to craft turn-ins
2)Buy turn in items for L40 Darkmoon Faire
3)modify yesterday’s plans for weekend pricing:
-follow market for some vendor items (those that are harder to sell at high prices)
-follow market for some heavy weekend traders, e.g. wool……hmm, sold 2x5, 1x20 @ 1.68g each.  Wonder if I should hold to my higher price?  Last weekend I sold @ 1.52.  So, keep higher price.
4)roll human hunter, Rohal, and ran him to Goldshire, for Darkmoon Faire (400g, 4x large grey sac); bought cats on the way.
5)Visit Darkmoon Faire several times
6)Make Buy list for plans/recipes that drop from Lesser and Greater Darkmoon Prize (I’m not L40, so I can’t get them directly; perhaps somebody will post them for low prices)


SELLING ON WEEKENDS
*no empty mailbox syndrome, as I’d feared.
-BUT my pipelines (e.g., wool cloth, light leather, herbs) are generally not selling because my TS prices are too high for the weekend market
-Selling items I posted low (to get rid of them) – eternal shadow, eternal water…..and now their prices have gone way up, I SHOULD HAVE TRUSTED MY TS PRICES…..or modified them upwards as market changed!
-selling some glyphs, Darkmoon Faire cards, cut gems…..are any of these truly pipelines, given that sales are infrequent? Does it matter what I call them?  If I’m making gold efficiently….same as vendor items?

Here's a follow up to Amalgam's info about the Darkmoon Faire.

 (which was wonderful, and made me start thinking about using the Faire to generate more gold, and have some fun!)


DARKMOON FAIRE TURNINS
1 ticket, Level 1
-5 copper modulator
-10 coarse weightstone
-5 small furry paw
-3 embossed leather boots

4 tickets, L10
-7 whirring bronze gizmo
-5 torn bear belts
-7 heavy grinding stone
-3 toughened leather armor

8 tickets, L20
-3 barbaric harness
-5 soft bushy tail
-3 green iron bracers
-36 green firework

12 tickets, L30
-5 vibrant plumes
-6 mechanical repair kit
-turtle scale leggings
-big black mace

20 tickets, L40
-6 thorium widget (6x3=18 thorium bars or ore; 6x1=6 runecloth; Eng 230)
-10 glowing scorpid blood
-10 evil bat eye
-8 dense grinding stone (8x4=32 dense stone; BS 250)
-8 rugged armor kit (8x5=40 rugged leather; LW250)

Tier 3 herbs seem to be the rarest, along with Outlands herbs.  Glyphs made from these herbs should be amongst the most expensive.  Although it doesn't always work that way, this list might provide a starting point for people wanting to get into the glyphs market.

Jon certainly has a video that says way more (and perhaps different) info, but I haven't watched it for a while....


GLYPHS MADE FROM LION’S INK (TIER 3 HERBS)
-Druid
moonfire
faerie fire
tiger’s fury
healing touch

-Hunter
immolation trap
mending
serpent sting
arcane shot

-Mage
blink
of the monkey
arcane missiles

-Paladin
Divinity
Judgement
Divine favor

-Priest
inner fire
flash heal
psychic scream
fade
shackle undead

-Rogue
garrote
distract
poisons
expose armor
evasion
eviscerate
pick lock

-Shaman
lightning bolt
water breathing
flametongue weapon
fire Nova
lightning shield
flame shock
ghost wolf
the arctic wolf

-Warlock
imp
eye of kilrogg
fear
health funnel

-Warrior
sunder armor
piercing howl
heroic throw
slam
demoralizing shout

Total gold acquired: 18,736
Average gold per day:  1102 (high: 1102)

Scans: 01:23, 09:08, 23:58 (late)

*Darkmoon Faire

TOO FUNNY!
I was trying to buy from Lhara at the Darkmoon Faire.  I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t buy some items. They were disappearing, and I was the only one there.  It was MY OWN Reagent Restocker!! What a hoot

UH.OH
I’m getting addicted to gold making!  I just got control of playing Wow, moving from addicted to dedicated.  Here I go again…lol.

REFINEMENTS
-To save checking in Beancounter every time:  when using buy lists for single items (e.g., glyphs, enchants; items in my 50g, 40g, 30 target buy lists), buy all items from one list at the same time, then repost them immediately.  This way, I know what the minimum Target Sell is (e.g., 2x50g, 2x40g).  NB. It takes too much time to record prices for each of these single items
-similarly, when reposting single items from these buy lists, use the buy list so that I know what the TS price is. (or try appraiser, with fixed price; but this needs to be set per item, unless I switch all to fixed price; or post before scanning)
-QUIT WORRYING ABOUT xmutes between items (e.g., Magic essence)….it’s too time consuming for the result; treat them as separate items.  Xmute for some items (Dream Shard, Cosmic Essence)


CONFIRMED PIPELINES
* Ancient Lichen (B 3   TS 6)  TIER 7
* Dream Shard, (B 1.48   TS 2.96)
* Eternium Ore (B 0.5      TS 1.75)
* Goldthorn (B 7      TS 14)  TIER 4
* Illusion Dust (B [4.9]   TS 9.
* Light Leather (B 0.75   TS 3.24)
* Lotus, Black (B 3      TS 6)
* Magic Essence, Greater (B 1   TS 3 - 4)    1GME = 3LME
* Magic Essence, Lesser (B 0.57      TS 1 - 2 )   3LME = 1GME
* Nightmare Vine (TB 2.5      TS 6)
* Steel Bar (B 1.5   TS 3)
* Strange Dust (B 0.9   TS 1.
* Vanishing Powder (vendor B 0.4   TS 1.21)
* Wool Cloth  (TB 0.45   TS 1 [1.5])    (3cloth = 1 bolt)

Darkmoon Faire
-Cards
-Thorium Bar/Ore (B 2      TS 4)

Total gold acquired: 22,166
Average gold per day: 1231 (high: 1231)

Scans:  02:35, 09:15,  19:32

*Darkmoon Faire

QUESTIONS
1)when do I start liquidating stock, without making the market crash? Is one week enough?  (GSR total doesn’t include inventory)
2)What’s a better way to keep TB, TS prices available?  It’s taking too long to buy/post. > Excel spreadsheet (better than Word).

REFINEMENTS
-stop recording what’s sold….takes too long

ACTIONS
1)Bought Emerald Bag (32 slot herb) 250g
2)Reposted expired auctions.  Too busy to do much else. No time for Darkmoon Faire

MORE CONFIRMED PIPELINES
* Enchant Chest – Exceptional Spirit (B 15      TS 148)
* Eternal Shadow (B 6      S 13.9) OR xchange for frozen orb

Total gold acquired:  24,681  (+2515g from yesterday)
Average gold per day:  1299 (high: 1299)

(Average gold per day doesn’t seem to agree with any calculation I can make, using either number of calendar days played or number of game time days played)

Scans: 01:37, 09:30, 16:34 (next before 04:32)

*Darkmoon Faire

WOW!!!!!!!
I think I’ve finally got it!
-I have solid pipelines going
-I’m earning >1000g per day
-I’ve streamlined my recording even further
-I’ve got inventory under control for the moment (still need to set up Amalgam’s suggested Addons)
-I have Buy lists that enable me to quickly check and post pipeline items
-I’ve identified longer cycle and “occasional” pipelines
-I’m gaining confidence in setting TB and TS prices….and in “permanently” altering them when necessary, modifying them when market shifts radically
-I think I know how to identify and test new potential pipelines.  We’ll see!

ACTIONS……..Wow, I got all the basics done today, woot!
-trade frozen orbs for eternal air
-Darkmoon Faire
-organized myself:  Pipeline, long cycle pipeline, “occasional” Buy lists
-vendor runs:  owls, Exodar, BB, IF
-Buy/sell using Buy lists: Pipelines, Long Cycle Pipelines, Occasionals, Darkmoon Faire, Darkmoon Faire Cards, Herbs Tier 3, Herbs Outlands, Darkmoon Faire Prizes
-look at DSA stack spreadsheet. I have to decide what to use as my criterion / criteria for choosing an item to test as a pipeline.  No decisions yet.  (when I figure this out, I’ll take another look at the other DSA spreadsheet)

Total gold acquired:  26,403  (+1722g from yesterday)
Average gold per day: 1329

Scans:  02:37, 11:48, 18:15

*Darkmoon Faire

ACTIONS
-Buy lists / repost
-Darkmoon Faire
-trade frozen orbs…record TS for eternals on the day I buy, wait for this price to come around again

*new buy list - DSA:  Sales Volume >= 10; low between 5 and 50; listing volume <= 100; market width >= 100; sell rate >= 50%; AH category not Glyph, not Armor

*glyphs:  buy @ <= 6g  (use buy lists per class, e.g. Glyph/Druid)
NB. Set up list of these for main server, so I can record buy price for reference as I post, repost.
For GSR, post @ 12-bottom of market
? would a snatch search be useful for this market?

Total gold acquired:  30,673  (+4270g since yesterday)
Average gold per day: 1460

Scans:  02:56, 04:11. 09:15, 24:06 (late) (next before 12:04)

*Darkmoon Faire

TODAY’S ISSUE
-trying to get all my gold actively working…ie. To buy 9000g worth of inventory and post it.
-got down to about 8000g for a while.
-this part is hard.  I need some ideas on what to do!

ACTIONS
-Buy lists / repost
*use Appraiser so that my Target Sell price is already there.  Pricing model to use is set to Purchogram, but as soon as I type in a number it switches to fixed.  This price will stay until I change it.
-do getall scan AFTER reposting my items - so that I can see what market has been doing, by comparing last data with refreshed data.

*Scrolls of (main stats) IX…add to inscription buy list; buy and repost > found only 1

-Darkmoon Faire
-trade frozen orbs…record TS for eternals on the day I buy, wait for this price to come around again
-buy vendor items
*glyphs:  buy @ <= 6g; reposted previous ones (undercutting)


*I REALLY NEED TO HAVE MORE GOLD WORKING FOR ME…9000G IN HAND ISN’T DOING ANYTHING!

*new buy list - DSA: low between 50 and 200; Sales Volume >= 3; [listing volume]; market width >= 100%; sell rate >= 50%; AH category not Armor   >> 15 items, mostly enchants  >> bought 3 items   [recipe: savory deviate delight already on my “occasional list”]

*new buy list - DSA: low between 100 and 200; [Sales Volume]; [listing volume]; market width >= 100%; sell rate >= 50%; AH category not Armor   >> 11 items  >> bought 1 item

*new buy list - DSA: low between 200 and 500; [Sales Volume]; [listing volume]; market width >= 100%; sell rate >= 50%; AH category not Armor   >> 4 items  >> found none.  Put bid on 1 item.

NOW HAVE 8300g ON HAND >> Look at stacks.

*look at stacks DSA:  Doesn’t have Market capacity.  Added Apparent Market Width Column (High – Low as a %); Sort on Apparent Market Width.  Stack size 20; Low >= 5; total listed <= 100; Total Sales >= 10; Sell Rate >= 45%; name not pigment or ink    >>  16 items, market width 67% - 0%.

Try again, stack size 5.  >> 25 items, market width 95% - 0%.  Look at items with market width >= 70%  NB. This includes goldthorn and obsidium bar; some of the “occasional items” I have identified or considered are on this list, with market width < 70% (e.g., runescroll of fortitude II, titanium bar, greater cosmic essence, )

NOW HAVE 7900g ON HAND.  Try harder!

*new buy list - DSA: low between 500 and 1000; [Sales Volume]; [listing volume]; market width >= 100%; [sell rate]; AH category not Armor, Weapon  >> 7 items, 5 of which are Darkmoon Faire cards  >> 2 items left, found none.  ******these items probably all sell in very low volume, so aren’t very good for GSR, especially with one week to go.

Hmmmm…..what do I do now?  BACK TO LOOKING AT MARKET NICHES, and seeing what I can find?

I enjoy reading your posts.  You're doing a nice job of analyzing what's working on your server.  We're in the home stretch now!

Hey Trex, I agree with nrsratchett, enjoy your posts.
Wish I could be that good. I`m mostly the screenshot guy...hehe

Keep it up 


Pure

(Average gold per day doesn’t seem to agree with any calculation I can make, using either number of calendar days played or number of game time days played)

Is this a character that you rolled a couple days before the official run in order to scope out the server? I don't remember if you did that or not. The reason I ask is because I believe the avg gold per day is based on the date of creation of the character. So if you did like I did, rolled a toon, ran her to AH to check the # of pages of auctions in the AH about 4 days before the run (it could have been longer, it was how I made my final choice on my server), and then parked the character w/o doing anything those days will still count when the UI does the averaging.

I hope that's clear as mud. 

~rannegirl

I enjoy reading your posts.  You're doing a nice job of analyzing what's working on your server.  We're in the home stretch now!

thank you, thank you!

I feel great to read your post

Next time I'll organize differently....you may see that it's all a learning experience for me.  Maybe I'll even try a video (gulp)?

Isn't it strange how fast 3 weeks has gone by?

Good luck and have fun