Start up

I've had a people people comment, pst me in game, or post on other forums (hello fellow tankadins) that I've inspired them to start amassing a large amount of gold. Well, now is a good time to do so and this post is for you. Just some basic pointers you'll need to get started.

When starting a business, there's several steps to take and things you'll need up front. The first thing you need is a few professions over skill 400. Based on what you have access to, you'll need a decent amount of start up cash. I recommend something around 2,000g to start. That means that you'll have to grind, do dailys, whatever you need to get your funding. Now that you've chosen a market, have your start up cash, you need to stockpile. Make sure you get a good amount so that you can stay posting at your low threshold for a while. If you're getting into BS, make two full stacks of buckles, glyphs will want at least 5 of everything that needs ink of the sea and etheral inks, things of this nature.

You want a decent stock, but don't spend all your money up front because everything won't sell up front. You need to be able to post items regularly so that you don't get forced out of the market by other sellers. In addition to a stock of things crafted to sell, you also need a stock of the mats to craft more so when you sell out you have more to make in case the materials take a spike up in price.

Once you get your mass crafting finished it's time to post. Go tho the AH, set up your addons the way you need and start with the undercutting. When entering a new market, I always make it a point to undercut a large amount, see my post on How to: undercutting for the full explanation. Now it's very important to not get discouraged when you are first starting. Most likely your market won't be making a crazy profit over night, so you need to be patient. After a bit of time passes and most of the casual sellers leave the market, you can start to undercut normal amounts and your business will start to take off. Don't be too concerned with spending to keep mats in stock, this is common especially when you're into many different markets. I myself still worry about this from time to time, mostly with epic gems due to spiky sales.

Now you have a foothold in your market of choice, you're posting and selling items frequently. Now it's time to branch out to make even more gold. Take a look at your options, maybe you want to get into LW. Buy a ton of borean leather and find a LW to turn it into heavy for you. Get some mining bags made, armor kits, the works. Since most of these have short cast times, it's not as much of a hassle to get a bunch of them done all at once. When getting into another market, it's very important to look into it for a few days before you start buying up the mats. Look at what sells, the normal price, normal price of the mats, when they sell, how often they sell, etc etc. If you have access to the needed profession and think that it would be a decent business move to get into it then go for it.

A few markets that have very little entry costs are:
-Enchanting rods
-Belt buckles
-Armor kits
-Profession LW bags
-Vendor pets

And the TL;DR version of this post is get 2,000 gold, pick a market, craft and post, once you have good money built up expand into other markets, repeat.


AH giggle of the day
A while ago I was receiving angry tells from a competing jewel crafter. Things like I shouldn't undercut as much as I do, I won't make money like this, I should just stop posting so they can "have their turn." So I continue to undercut by several gold each time they post under me by a few silver. A week or two passes and I see that same person selling tons of raw and cut gems for well below material price. I buy them up, relist, and proceed to sell them over a few days at my normal price. I have yet to see them post a single gem in almost a month now. Now I'm back to undercutting by only a few gold at a time as opposed to 10. And the market is back to being 90% all mine.


Lesson learned:
Persistence is key, keep doing what you know works and it will.


Thanks for stopping by!