Networking is not just for Facebook!

A lot of the auctioneers I’ve met are very much go it alone types.  They either find themselves completely absorbed in their data, or look at everyone else as possible competition and don’t want to share their information and opinions with anyone.

Networking with other adventurers however can be a great way to broaden your business.  It doesn’t matter so much if it is people you’ve just met or people you’ve been in a guild with for a long time getting by with a little help from your friends in my opinion (and the Beatles) is the way to go.

If like me you’ve only got one account cross faction trading can be terribly difficult (mostly impossible as you can’t buy your alts auctions).  However with the help of a friend or two it’s not impossible, Right now I have a bank alt loaded with alliance pets thanks to some help from a friend (thanks Xknight!).  With a good partner you should be able to make a fair amount of gold for each other on both sides of the fence.

Another great reason to be social with other adventures of all ages and experience is that you want them to Farm for you!  In truth I am most excited when I find someone starting out in wow as everything is new and shiny to them and they are more than willing to grab some items for you that will give them a fair amount of gold to build upon plus you will be building upon a relationship that could be useful and fulfilling for a long time. I have found several young blood elfs to farm Small Eggs for me I offer to buy the eggs for 50 silver each off of them which for a lvl 5-20 is pretty decent bank considering their drop rate.   

I also have level  80’s that  are willing farm Essences and other items for me. I find a lot of the people out there are afraid of the auction house, Or simply not patient enough to learn how to play it, but would love to get 300-400g for an hour of work (even if you in turn are getting 700-1000g from the same mats). I have often found the best way to approach people about this is to be straight forward. I tend to offer around 50% of the Ah value to the farmers which Is normally pretty reasonable. If they ask what you intended to do with the items be honest, if you are going to sell them for a profit say so, if you are going to use them to craft even better!

If you are serious about having people farm for you there are a couple things that might help.  First make a list of the items you would ideally like to get (Essences, spidersilks, ores, primal, rep items ect…ect…) Note the level of mobs that drop them, where they are best farmed and price points for both Buying and Selling.  If you find someone who is willing to make some money, Simply refer to the list and supply them with the information. Treat it as if you are giving them a job. Have them COD the items to you and Let them know the turnaround on it. If you are planning to go on a vacation and won’t be picking up CODs let your friend/farmer know!

Finally you want to Network with other Auctioneers. I have on several occasions made deals with people that for all practical purposes are my competition, Sometimes  they will grab a huge volume of items as a great discount and be happy to let it go for what amounts to a small profit and will leave you the job of posting everything individually for a pretty nice profit yourself.  Sometimes you can come to terms with  the completion and end an undercutting war, or come to a reasonable price you both are comfortable with. Of course there is also the fact that if you are on good terms with other auctioneers you can trade secrets, share theories and who knows, maybe even make a huge gold making community (that’ll never happen)!