Questions

Is it easy?

Yes and no. Yes if you put in the time. No if you don’t.

Does it take alot time?

I do my auctioneer scans when I am starting or ending a WoW session. While scans can take up to 20 minutes on big servers, I am rarely in front of my computer during the scan. I am doing other things so the time “wasted” is minimal. For scanning, buying, and listing, I usually spend a total of 10 minutes a day on weekdays and 20 minutes a day on weekends doing all my auctioneer work.

Is it risky?

Using auctioneer involves the risk of loss of listing fees and possibly being stuck with an item for which you overpaid by a large margin. This risk can be minimized by learning about a specific item before purchasing and by limiting your auctioneer funds to just a portion of your total money. However, nothing risked means nothing gained.

When should I start?

I typically start around level 10 with new characters. I will usually have 2-3G at that point and can start small with 1G dedicated towards purchases. At this point, I can only purchase 3-5 items at a time and they have projected profits of only about 10-20s. I only purchase items that I know very well or at worst case that I can use on my character. It seems like a long time to make money initially as you will still be leveling quickly, you will be making more money through quests, and the profits are relatively small at this point. However, just like a runaway freight train, you will likely really pickup steam around level 20, and around level 30 you will have a full force money machine working. I will usually hit 1,000G in my low to middle 30s.

How much money should I expect to make?

That depends on how much time you put into it, how much money you set aside for it, your server’s economy, your specific strategy, etc. That all being said, starting with a new character with no see money, I shoot for 100G by level 25 then 1,000G by level 35 and then 3,000 by level 45. After that, it just becomes a ‘make more than I spend’ plan.

I can make plenty of money doing xyz, why do this?

Auctioneer is just one part of WoW. I use it for supplemental income. I still prefer questing and battlegrounds over time at the auction house. If it’s not for you, that is perfectly fine.

Do I have to sell what I buy?

No. I constantly find bargains on gear that I can use now or even 10 levels later. I once bought a Staff of Jordan for about 90G below market value and stashed it away for about 2 months before using it. I will also provide items to friends or guild members.

Should I use an alt for this?

I would recommend this once you hit level 30 or if you have more than one character on a server. This will optimize your bag space as well as limit confusion on which one of your character have or need what. Remember that a level 1 character can do the same thing with Auctioneer as a level 70 character can do.

Auctioneer slows down my system. Why?

Auctioneer, like all add-ons, use up system memory. There are two things that you can do to help slow downs. First, when logging with your character, click on the add-on button in the lower left of your screen and change the available memory to a higher amount. Second, delete add-ons which you no longer use or one with minimal usage.

I am addicted to auctioneer. What do I do?

So you are addicted to a mini-game inside of the already addictive WoW? Don’t worry. It happens to a lot of people. I once had over 200 items listed on AH at one time. It took a very long time to deal with each day. This character was level 46 and had over 5,000 gold. I was doing it for the thrill of seeing how much I could make in one day. However, like all things, take Auctioneer with a bit of moderation. Go out and quest, PvP, or do some real life stuff. Remember, Auctioneer is just ones way to enjoy WoW. Is Fu-xyz really more important than Auctioneer?

Why share this info if has worked so well for you?

Statistically, there is no way that this mini guide will move server economies. There are millions of players, tons of different servers, different time zones, different level characters, different ways to make money, and on and on. Educationally, I am tired of seeing people ask ‘how do I make more money in WoW’ and seeing ‘go grind and loot’ or ‘run around gathering herbs’. While those are good ideas, I feel they pale in comparison to auctioneer. Philanthropically, I hope to help people find a new part of WoW and to create more discussion on this topic. Egotistically, I have never written anything like this and it was fun.

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