Undercutting: What do you think about that ?

[Arathari]

How, exactly, is that going to stop undercutting? If anything you're encouraging them. You're giving them business.

Giving them business yes, then making a huge profit of 300+ after the fact. This does work. I did it all through Wrath. Controlled the Gem market for almost a year. Never really stops but you control the prices. Don't be a rock. This works.

[Renwin]

I do it a lot. Not that I hate anyone that plays the auction house normally. I just don't want too much crap in the my bags and I know something has to be worth gold for somebody. So selling it cheaper (even to the point of undercutting, but not too hard) is my way of doing.

[wooootles]

Someone crafted a bunch of 365 BS stuff in my realm and sold them for 11-13k. Everyone else (including me) put it in the neighborhood of 17k-20k. Guess what, My items sold, and the other guys who put it up for 17-20k sold too. Sure enough, the dude who sold them for 11-13k sold them too, but he's a dumbass who just lost out 6-7k for each item that he sold. Don't be that guy.

PS I could have bought that 11-13k and put it up again to an appropriate price, but I had no capital, since at the time I converted most of my gold into Truegold and other mats,

[ureonfire]

here is what is stupid about the question of "undercutting" in AH... everyone also has the choice to announce in trade chat they are selling less than the AH price for an item, thus undercutting AND cutting out the AH cut.. making more... the AH is for peeps that dont want to stay logged on trying to sell through trade chat...

seriously, if people haven't figured out economics 101.. then they should just vendor their items..NUFF SAID!! I will ALWAYS buy the lowest priced item in the AH.. don't you????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[Darkfriend]

Why on EARTH would you be upset that someone is keeping the price high by undercutting you by 1c? The point is to sel your goods at the highest price they will sell for. Some items like belt buckles always sell, so undercut by 1c. Some items are overpriced, maybe epics, maybe undercut by more. I have no clue why you'd be upset. Either way, you are being undercut. Either way you have to repost. If they don't undercut by a lot, they are keeping the price high. I simply fail to understand where you learned anything about economics to think one is "fair" and one is not. Life is not fair. That doesn't mean you can't deal with it. Nothing bugs me more on the AH then people setting the price far lower then it should be, out of stupidity, or a desire to troll. (both types exist on my server.)

An exception would be something like this: Enchant landslide for 7k. Its not going to sell. So i'd undercut to something like 2200.

Thus, I only undercut by more when I believe an item is overpriced to the point it won't sell, or when I wish to move stock for some reason, which is rare.

Gems? 1c. MFC? 1c. Buckles? 1c. Almost anything my addon is set to undercut by 1c. I see absolutely no downsides, and many benefits. My goal is to make me money, not the other guy. To that extent, I will do so to the best of my ability, and desire. No offense, but undercutting like the OP is not only asinine, but shows a distinct lack of understanding for WoW's economy, as well as a misplaced belief that the AH should be "fair".

[darkwarrior42]

Gems? 1c. MFC? 1c. Buckles? 1c. Almost anything my addon is set to undercut by 1c. I see absolutely no downsides, and many benefits. My goal is to make me money, not the other guy. To that extent, I will do so to the best of my ability, and desire. No offense, but undercutting like the OP is not only asinine, but shows a distinct lack of understanding for WoW's economy, as well as a misplaced belief that the AH should be "fair".

What's incredibly sad about this paragraph is that there are enough fools and idiots in the game to let this sort of business practice work (same goes for real life, really).

These days, I'll gladly undercut by absurd amounts just to piss people off, and I'll keep doing it so much that market prices drop. I don't need the gold for anything, and I'm completely self-sufficient with all my professions, so I don't need anything off the AH, so I have literally nothing to lose, and everyone who buys on the AH comes out ahead. The only people who lose out are those who regularly play the AH for a profit... and the attitudes of those who do displayed in this thread demonstrate why it doesn't really matter too much if they get a bit upset (they don't care about anyone else, so why should anyone else care about them?).

[Cherrysoul]

What's incredibly sad about this paragraph is that there are enough fools and idiots in the game to let this sort of business practice work (same goes for real life, really).

These days, I'll gladly undercut by absurd amounts just to piss people off, and I'll keep doing it so much that market prices drop. I don't need the gold for anything, and I'm completely self-sufficient with all my professions, so I don't need anything off the AH, so I have literally nothing to lose, and everyone who buys on the AH comes out ahead. The only people who lose out are those who regularly play the AH for a profit... and the attitudes of those who do displayed in this thread demonstrate why it doesn't really matter too much if they get a bit upset (they don't care about anyone else, so why should anyone else care about them?).

Couldn't have said it better myself, pretty much how i view it all too.

[Obsiddias]

I don't have a problem with people undercutting me or whoever, if its by a decent amount (as long as they don't crash the market in the process!) - I do mind when they undercut you by 1 whole copper of the price you put it up for... seriously, if people are going to undercut, then just undercut properly - I won't / don't buy the items off of those people, because in my eyes they aren't the cheapest, they're just being selfish.

[Maelstrom51]

What's incredibly sad about this paragraph is that there are enough fools and idiots in the game to let this sort of business practice work (same goes for real life, really).

These days, I'll gladly undercut by absurd amounts just to piss people off, and I'll keep doing it so much that market prices drop. I don't need the gold for anything, and I'm completely self-sufficient with all my professions, so I don't need anything off the AH, so I have literally nothing to lose, and everyone who buys on the AH comes out ahead. The only people who lose out are those who regularly play the AH for a profit... and the attitudes of those who do displayed in this thread demonstrate why it doesn't really matter too much if they get a bit upset (they don't care about anyone else, so why should anyone else care about them?).

What you're really doing if you're undercutting by absurd amounts is fueling the people you seem to hate - the people who play the auction house. A smart goblin will simply buy you out then repost for the previous prices, making "absurd" profits.

[tommypilgrim]

I like to aggresively undercut, really drive down prices and try to scare people out of the market. If somebody buys out my auctions and relists at a higher price I simply flood the market with more of the item - the principle of supply and demand will eventually mean that their high price will be unable to hold. What's the point of undercutting each other by 1c until we get to a point where we're either bored or the price hits the point where I'd have crashed it to anyway?

Somebody had a go at me the other day for selling flasks of the Draconic Mind for 65g when he was selling them for 100g. He bought mine out, relisted them, then I invested my profits into more and listed them at 65g again. He was too busy trying to buy out my auctions to realise I was the one making profit and he wasn't making any at his "proper" price.

[Hoddie]

Most of the glyph mafia on my server hates me - they undercut by between 1c and 1g each time they list, as do I, and we used to spend hours cancelling and re-listing every few minutes. These days I post 3-4 times per day only, unless I'm online and they undertcut me as soon as I post. If they do that I'll re-post and undercut them by 22g (just a random number I plucked out of the air). If they cancel and re-list again, I undercut again by 22g. And so it goes on until all glyphs are listed for about 10-15g each. The major sellers have learned this and will not undercut me while I'm online as they know I'll tank the market pretty quickly. The thing that seems to annoy them the most - I don't cancel any auctions, I just wait for them to fall off. Whereas the others will cancel and re-list, I just re-list from stock. They want me to cancel so that they can buy my cheap glyphs and re-list at a huge markup, but by having multiples up at different prices I make it harder for them to do this. I don't really need the gold any more, I only do it to piss these people off.

[pilch]

People who destroy the market and their own profits at the same time need euthanised.

[Hoddie]

Gems? 1c. MFC? 1c. Buckles? 1c. Almost anything my addon is set to undercut by 1c. I see absolutely no downsides, and many benefits. My goal is to make me money, not the other guy. To that extent, I will do so to the best of my ability, and desire. No offense, but undercutting like the OP is not only asinine, but shows a distinct lack of understanding for WoW's economy, as well as a misplaced belief that the AH should be "fair".

Something else that's not always true. I sell engineering pets on my realm and I've found a price for all of them where they usually shift the same day I list them. While other sellers list them for 200g each and maybe sell a handful each week, I can sell 20-30 per day for half the price. The comedy value of their irate whispers, and occasional mails, is worth it alone, the profit I make from sheer volume is just icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned. The moral of this little story? Keeping prices high might make you more gold per sale, but isn't necessarily the best way to make the most profit.

[llubtoille]

when I put stuff up, I'll usually put it up for about 10-20% less than the other lowest buyout,
I'm not in the market for the long haul, I just want a quick near-guaranteed sale.

[ediochrus]

As several others have mentioned it is interesting to check out other items being undercut by 60-80%, I have made a ton buying them up then relisting at my prices. I never thought of sending an in-game message thanking them for the increased inventory and extra gold, I'll have to do that in the future Nothing better than buying an enchant for 14g99s99c and turning around and selling it for 125g.

[Darkfriend]

this could all be fixed if blizzard implemented a 20% minimum price adjustment... like... if you post your items for cheaper.. it must be atleast 20% cheaper than the current lowest price...

Dumbest idea I've heard of in months. GF free market? So belt buckles are 300g, the next lowest has to be 240g? Seriously? Why is undercutting bad? No one has a logical reason that would work in a free market.

[KeyserSoze]

If Bob Barker allowed it, I'm ok with it.

I'm pretty sure this wins and ends the thread.

But on topic, undercutting = competition. Sorry if you don't like getting undercut, but all it means is either someone has found a better way to procure said item(s) or you overvalue your time. It's just that simple.

Stop proclaiming things like "reasonable price" or "real value" because those ideas are nonsense.

[Xtreme]

undercutting irritates me >.<

[Nonfoxx]

People who undercut by 15% or more are the ones who get on my nerves more than the 1c cutters, because at least then the price will stay similar. I put some Maelstroms on the AH about 20 mins ago for 91g each, now they're down to 60g in the space of 5 sellers? I mean sure, some idiots who undercut are good for me because I can buy them at insanely cheap price then sell later, but it's the inbetween ones which aren't too cheap to buy, but aren't at a good price. If you check the AH you can catch idiot undercutters who are trying to flog their items at a very low price. So IMO; somtimes it's good, sometimes it's bad.