Attn: Herbalists, Skinners, Miners, etc...

[sidelsky18]

Let me start off my soliloquy with an analogy.

Suppose you buy a new house and would like four televisions to put in your house. You see a nice television on eBay for $300 and decide to visit Craigslist in light of a better deal. You browse nearby and find someone is selling four of the exact same television you saw on eBay in the exact same condition.

Now let me stop here, which would be more reasonable:

A) You offer the man $1000 for all four televisions, saving him some trouble of finding someone to sell them to while getting a pretty good deal.
B) You offer the man $1500 for all four televisions, paying more than you would at eBay for televisions from someone who has no return policy.

For most people, A would be the most reasonable choice. The man doesn't have to worry about selling the TVs anymore, he doesn't have to sell them on eBay or other sites or find a friend to sell them to. In addition, you get the TVs you wanted for $200 off.

Now apply this situation to WoW. I can't tell you how many times I've posted in trade "Wanting to buy [Cinderbloom] stacks, whisper the quantity you have and I'll reply with an offer," people will send me whispers with varying amount of herbs and I'll reply with an offer that is 10-15% lower than the Auction House. Most all of them reply with some form of "I could get more than that on the AH!" Of course you could, just like I could have (in the analogy above) paid eBay (Auction House) price, but instead I went to Craigslist (Trade Chat) for a better deal.

In a simpler sense, if I wanted to buy 100 Cinderbloom for 650g (AH Price) why wouldn't I have bought it from the AH?

[The Doctor]

I just usually respond to them with "sure, go sell it on ah, see how long it takes. OR you can take a slightly smaller amount right now garuanteed. Now how many X do you want to get rid of for X amount?"

[matherl]

because people want more money, Everyone is greedy... the reason they whispered you is if you didnt check AH prices so they could trick you into paying more than the AH making a even greater profit

[Diablós]

You have to be a business man and talk business. "hey lets work something out, I buy ALL your stock for this (5-20% lower)

[unholyskipper]

Lol this is exact oppisite of what i do i undercut any of the ah herbs by 50g it is bought within a matter of 2 minutes then ill put another stack in and keep going in this sence ill get my 1250g in 12 min and the ah price of whiptail stays at 300 even if im selling it for 250

[Maelle]

As some one who regularly herbs bulk quantitys to sell... the problem is 9/10 if you try a private sale, people are just trying to straight out rip you off so they can sell themselves at AH or make into herbs for flasks for AH

So turned on it's head, why would I give you a 30% or more discount rather than just list the goods and sell for full whack anyway?

yeah people who want to sell privately and won't accept any discount are kind of pointless, but so are the stupid low offers i get every time I try and sell in trade, not to mention if i have 20 stacks a dude haggling over the cost of 5 flowers, all this wasted time is in theory my money that i could just have listed on AH for 0 hassle

[deneweth]

The analogy is somewhat flawed. If I'm selling four TVs I would rather post them in an AH than haggle with a guy on the street. I don't think getting a discount for buying in bulk really applies to virtual goods where shipping and storing them doesn't factor into "manufacturing" costs.

These people you're dealing with are already suspect since they have saved up a ton of mats but haven't already listed them on the AH. Just tell them they can get sure money now and avoid AH cuts, or better yet figure out what you're willing to pay and post it ahead of time. You probably won't get as many replies that way but what do you expect if you're trying to buy at sub-AH prices? Any reasonable person is going to check the AH before they make the sale.

[sidelsky18]

I don't think getting a discount for buying in bulk really applies to virtual goods where shipping and storing them doesn't factor into "manufacturing" costs.

Oh, but they do. Selling over trade doesn't involve having to post the auctions, pay the deposit fee, pay the auction house cut, collect the money, any of that. It's simpler for the seller, and as such the buyer should expect a (reasonable) discount.

[Ryscan]

A) You offer the man $1000 for all four televisions, saving him some trouble of finding someone to sell them to while getting a pretty good deal.
B) You offer the man $1500 for all four televisions, paying more than you would at eBay for televisions from someone who has no return policy.

Option A assumes that the items aren't in high demand and are difficult to find buyers for. It's not the best analogy to support your plight.

A lot of people find it easier (and often more lucrative) to just sell the items on the AH. In a market as fast-paced as it is right now, it's not difficult to move product if you know how to sell properly. Remember, you and thousands of other people need the same items. The AH also is serving a "global" market where almost everyone goes to buy and sell, as opposed to your CraigsList analogy, where the man selling the TVs is only listing his items to his local area and may not find any (or enough) people who want them.

[sidelsky18]

A lot of people find it easier (and often more lucrative) to just sell the items on the AH. In a market as fast-paced as it is right now, it's not difficult to move product if you know how to sell properly. Remember, you and thousands of other people need the same items. The AH also is serving a "global" market where almost everyone goes to buy and sell, as opposed to your CraigsList analogy, where the man selling the TVs is only listing his items to his local area and may not find any (or enough) people who want them.

Auction House ----> eBay (A lot more buyers, higher demand, higher price)
Trade Chat ----> Craigslist (Fewer buyers, easier to sell/less fees, lower price)

The analogy may be somewhat flawed, but the general idea is (in my opinion of course) correct.

[Mroz123]

you know it has a flaw. He will sell it on AH in no time

[Revollution]

so what the real diffrence, assuming they sell on the ah or in trade, the seller still takes the cut, ie ah fee and ah cut for selling, or x% on the bulk price, i dont personally see any realy diffrence in doing either, only real benifet would be in having along term buyer for a set amount each time, regardless if the ah fluctuates, unless it is a huge diffrence.

[Arcilux]

Maybe its just my server, but I can sell on the AH all my stock almost immediately. Seriously, I go to TH and farm for a few hours, come back with say 2 stacks pyrite, 20 stacks Elementium, and 5 stacks twilight jasmine. I can sell all of this in trade chat for say 3400 gold, or sell on the AH in 10 minutes for about 4700 gold, minus the AH cut total profit of lets say 4500 gold. The economy is moving so fast that there is almost no risk to me posting in AH and I will get a rather large increase in profit for almost no more work.

Actually, I would argue that AH is easier because then I don't have to wait for trade chat people to post, check current prices on AH, haggle with trade chat poster, send the mail/go to the buyer in person. Split the goods up into 12 stacks(mail) or 6 stacks(in person trade), repeat until all stacks are sold. Compared to AH, I hop into capitol city, check prices on AH, right click one stack. Click the button that says stacks Maximum. Type in values, leave capitol city and get back to my game.

[Ryscan]

...Compared to AH, I hop into capitol city, check prices on AH, right click one stack. Click the button that says stacks Maximum. Type in values, leave capitol city and get back to my game.

Or you could be like me and have an addon that does all that in one step.

[MisterSoup]

@ the Doctor

On a side note, I really like how your forum name at the moment is "The Doctor the Patient"

[Mashka]

Lol this is exact oppisite of what i do i undercut any of the ah herbs by 50g it is bought within a matter of 2 minutes then ill put another stack in and keep going in this sence ill get my 1250g in 12 min and the ah price of whiptail stays at 300 even if im selling it for 250

You sir do not understand basic economics and are actually losing out on a lot of potential profit. If the demand is high enough you do not need to price your goods that low. I often whisper people undercutting my by obscene amounts (like you are doing) with something along the lines of "Would you like x amount of gold?" x being the amount of money they are losing by undercutting me.

[PetersenIII]

You see a nice television on eBay for $300 and decide to visit Craigslist in light of a better deal.

Idioms & Phrases
in light of

Also, in the light of; in view of. In consideration of, in relationship to. For example, In light of recent developments, we're postponing our meeting, or In the light of the weather forecast we've canceled the picnic, or He got a special bonus in view of all the extra work he had done. The first two of these terms date from the late 1600s, the third from about 1800.

I believe you mean 'in search of'. While strictly speaking your usage is not necessarily wrong, but it implies foreknowledge of better deals on craigslist which does not seem to follow from the rest of the text.


As to your topic, it all depends on the quantity, really. If they only are offering a stack or two, they're going to expect closer to AH prices, if they have several stacks, then you are more safe to try talking down their price. When they respond "I could get more than that on the AH!" then ask "Then why have you not posted them on the AH?"

People don't seem to be in the practice of haggling and part of me finds that a little sad. The most optimal price to sell on trade chat would be ~5% below AH. You cut the buyer a deal and make as much money as you would have having auctioned the item (due to the AH cut). You also don't risk being undercut and wasting your deposit.

[Jest]

Oh, but they do. Selling over trade doesn't involve having to post the auctions, pay the deposit fee, pay the auction house cut, collect the money, any of that. It's simpler for the seller, and as such the buyer should expect a (reasonable) discount.

Except when the deal being offered in trade results in more loss than the deposit and ah cut. People who try to buy private are always looking for a better price.. but unless I'm in a serious need of gold.. why would I cut my profits? Especially if we're talking Stacks that I farmed myself!

Now if it's something I got as a random drop like a World BoE or for example, Broken Hilt from Wrath.. then there's a lot more room for negotiation because anything made on those items is pure profit. Unless, of course, the demand for that item is exceptionally high.

[splunge]

However, Trade chat is full of whiners, trolls, idiots and asshats, and being in there rots your brain.
So, in that respect, Trade is like Craigslist, where you can pick up horrible diseases.

[Brasko]

Now apply this situation to WoW. I can't tell you how many times I've posted in trade "Wanting to buy [Cinderbloom] stacks, whisper the quantity you have and I'll reply with an offer," people will send me whispers with varying amount of herbs and I'll reply with an offer that is 10-15% lower than the Auction House. Most all of them reply with some form of "I could get more than that on the AH!" Of course you could, just like I could have (in the analogy above) paid eBay (Auction House) price, but instead I went to Craigslist (Trade Chat) for a better deal.

In a simpler sense, if I wanted to buy 100 Cinderbloom for 650g (AH Price) why wouldn't I have bought it from the AH?

The problem with your analogy is that the amount of effort it would take to sell all four TV's individually, thereby offsetting the lower price for the sake of convenience, doesn't really apply to WoW, as the effort required to post something on the auction house is negligible.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but WoW is not the real world and most comparisons with the real world do not apply.