This is part one of two on professions that are on the low end of profits. In an odd situation, this entry is too long to be a single one, but not quite long enough to be split into two parts. But in the interest of simplicity I decided to split it up any way.
Somehow there are still a large number of people that are struggling to maintain over a few thousand gold. A large number of people having under 10k and some still that have no means of making gold other than farming. I often say that a lot of these people are simply lazy, stupid, or are merely ignorant of the AH. The purpose of this entry today is twofold. The first is to in part apologize to a small minority of these people who cannot seems to make a decent amount of gold with honest effort. The second is to point out a few professions/markets that are in serious need of help to make the wow gold. Each of the professions I mention today are ones that I suggest that you work on skilling up last when deciding on what profession to work next.
I've recently written about the 3 professions that can make you a gold mine in no time and a short overview of the rest of the professions. As it stands JC, alchemy, inscription, and enchanting are the top gold making professions out there while the rest fall drastically short. For today we'll ignore those wonderful gold printing machines and focus on the rest in the interest of brevity. The point here is that in you are of the small group that has only a gathering profession and one of the other ones available, it is entirely possible (and likely) that you won't be swimming in gold any time soon without becoming a camper, even with an honest effort on your part.
First off is black smithing. The primary issues with this profession are that there is so little to sell, such a small market for them, and generally any competition is devastating. While buckles sell very well, they don't make enough of a profit to afford any nice vanity items or a boe epic here or there. The enchanting rods and pvp gear are great, but again they are a very small market and serve more of a supplement than a primary market. However the best part of smithing currently is that while profits may be small, they are indeed consistent. They are also consistent enough that you can fully sustain all repairs and raiding consumables without needing to grind dailys every day.
Next is engineering. Over the last two weeks, I've sold 4 mechano hogs, half a dozen mini fel reavers, and a handful of bomb pets. This is partially the same situation as with BS as it targets a small market, but does have the potential for high profit margins. While enggy can make great profits, they are far from consistent and generally quite slow. Also there is the need to be exalted with the horde expedition to make the bike which takes a good amount of effort if you don't have it already from wrath. Even with the slow sales and high profits this profession technically can sustain you, but it will not be an easy time building up any sort of bank. I think one of the biggest issues here is market flooding.
Any profession that can craft a consumable is typically going to do well, except in the case where that consumable is one of the prime items to craft to skill up. This may seem like a great thing as you can make back your money from leveling it, you will be one of hundreds thinking the same thing. That means the expectation of recouping losses is not going to go as well as planned. Personally I have a toon that is enggy/mining on another server and after a few weeks of solid AH playing is only just now breaking 11k gold. With only enggy it will not be easy to jump start any other business.
Continuing on with this tomorrow.
I disagree on the Blacksmithing part:
ReplyDeleteThere are days when I definitely earn more money through Blacksmithing than even JC could make me.
Still, the market IS smaller, I agree with that, but many people seem to be hesitant to buy the BS patterns or something.
That's probably due to the cost involved, but nevertheless the whole market seems less fierce than the gem market, for example.
Blacksmiths can not only sell the 85 PVP set or Belt Buckles, but also Enchanting Rods, low-level armor pieces / sets, item enhancements, sometimes Grinding Stones (!!) and even crafting to disenchant can be profitable (e.g., Thorium <-> Illusion Dust/Eternal Essence).
Engineering, however, really sucks.
Low level gear markets can be a boon. I have found w/ LW and Tailor at least that gear for toons, particularly non chest/shoulder slots sells well for toons before the LFD. 2-3 gold to make the pants or boots, sell em for 10 gold.
ReplyDeleteAfter level 15, the market seems to be less since the LFD is opened up. Have not played in the BS market, and I think Engy is a bust too, since much of what they make is "engineering xxx required"
Maybe a few sales like this is worth the time and maybe not.
I also have a monster in the Ah that aids my ends... they buy EVERYTHING in the low level range and relist ALL the greens for 100gold... so rather it is them buying my stuff or, just my lower prices that make sales. I am not sure. Still anything that is not too much to spend and will help a player out in the 10-15 BG bracket may sell well