As some of you undoubtedly noticed (or rather, didn't notice), I haven't updated for quite some time. RL coupled with writer's block has prevented me from taking the time to make a genuine post. As it seems to be the trend (though I'm a little late on it), I thought I would take a few minutes to go over my thoughts on the post-4.0.6 gold market, as well as a quick update on what I'm currently doing to make gold.
The most notable changes influencing gold making that occurred in 4.0.6 were the addition of new Meta gems and bracer enchants, the fixing of Meta gem requirements, changes to the material costs of Flasks, and the addition of new sockets to crafted gear. There were a few other changes, such as the new glyph and the addition of an ink trader in Org, but those didn't affect me quite as much as the others.
First off, Meta gems. I'm not sure why, but I was under the impression that I would have all three of the new Meta cuts by at least the end of patch day and completely dominate the market. I assume that belief was based on my large reserves of gold, which I figured I could use to quickly buy up any recipes that were posted. What I completely neglected to factor in was that the recipes would first need to be sold in order for me to buy them! And to be sold, they had to be found. And Rare World Drops, by their nature, are rare. So I didn't see a single recipe in the AH or in trade chat all day, and the one I actually saw drop was in a Heroic, and I lost the roll. Other JCs seemed to have some good luck, as by the end of the day each recipe was known by at least two JCs, based on the barking in Trade Chat. I did manage to snag the Agile Recipe for a measly 900g, thanks to TUJ alerts and the Remote AH. As of now, I've seen a few more of the Agile and Reverberating recipes go up for auction (at prices exceeding 20k), but I've yet to see the +int one (I forget its name).
As for the Meta Market in general, business is still good. I now know 5 different cuts, and each sells reasonably well. Ember Shadowspirit still outshines the others (even Agile!), but even the Chaotic cut still sells, as I speculated that it would, seeing as how it's a cheaper alternative to the new Metas.
The new bracer enchants are an interesting bunch. I managed to grab the +Agility one for 1000g, and there are currently two or three of the +Str and at least one of the +Int on the AH for over 15k each, and I don't think any of them have actually sold. I'm not sure how many people actually know about them, or even care. Someone was asking for the +Agi enchant in Trade, so I sold my services for 250g + their mats. They jumped on the offer quickly, so I think I could have charged more. I have occasionally barked that I could do the enchant (their mats + a service charge, of course; I don't work for paltry tips...), but have yet to receive a positive reply. The mat costs are a bit too steep for me to risk crafting the scroll, so as of right now, this recipe doesn't seem like it will bring in much gold. As such, there is no way I'm spending 10k+ to get the others. 5k would probably be the max I would even remotely consider. Anyone else noticing something similar with the bracer enchants on their server?
Next up, we have the Flask changes. Flasks and potions are something I keep meaning to get in to, but rarely actually bother with. From the scans I do, the market still doesn't seem viable on my server. However, my investment in Volatile Life has paid out, though not as well as I was hoping. I got lucky on patch day, and managed to completely reset the VL market, posting in assorted stacks at ~17g per item. This trend held for a glorious few hours, until some other goblin who had been stockpiling completely blanket posted at only 10g each. I briefly considered buying out his entire stock, but feared the market would be too "volatile" to sustain 17g per for long enough. I'm still working through my stockpile, and with the help of strategic overcutting I can still sell a decent amount above the base market value and at a very nice ROI. (Perhaps that is material for a future post?)
As for the inscription changes, I don't have much more than passing comments, as I've slowly dropped out of the Glyph market due to the excessive time commitment. As an aside, at some point when I have the time, I would like to strong-arm all the competition out of the market and completely take it over. But for now, I've been slacking in that regard. I initially stockpiled quite a few stacks of Blackfallow ink in anticipation of the new DMF, hoping to turn them in to Inferno Ink and selling at a premium. However, that never happened, as Inferno Ink prices seemed to have dropped considerably on my server, perhaps in part due to the new Ink Trader. As for the new glyph (Glyph of Dark Succor, I think), I sold a few, and promptly stopped caring. I'm sure it still fetches a decent amount of gold, but since every scribe can learn it immediately, I'd expect competition to drive prices down rather quickly.
Lastly, I'll give a quick update on what I've been doing post-4.0.6 to earn gold. It's quite simple, really: I use TSM to find profitable gem cuts, cut them, then post with TSM and do the occasional 2-3 minute cancel/repost. This has become so easy and so profitable with such a low time-commitment, I have all but dropped out of other markets. Except for Scrolls. Cata weapon enchants sell well and at huge mark-ups from their mat costs, and even Wrath scrolls sell well. I also dabble in some Twink enchants, which also do reasonably well. I've almost completely stopped shuffling for enchanting materials given how cheap they normally are, and how much profit I'm making off of scrolls. Transmuting Rare gems is also becoming viable, especially Ember Topaz, as I'm noticing a sharp decline in the prices of Uncommon Cata gems.
So that's pretty much all for now. Patch 4.0.6 didn't really rock the boat for me financially; I'm still seeing the same general pattern of sales as I did before, with the exceptions of the Agile Meta gem and my dwindling stockpile of Volatile Life. I will say I think I'm selling more scrolls, though whether that's due to my increased presence in that market, the declining mat prices, or if the market is actually picking up is something I'm unsure of. On a broader note, I have a few ideas for posts I've been mulling over, and hopefully I will be able to find the time to actually put them down and share them. But until then, thanks for reading, and I hope it has been somewhat informative!
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