Recap: Top Blog Posts From February

February Popular Posts At Cold's Gold Factory

Each month, I like to do a quick wrap-up of the top posts from the previous month.  This helps bring attention to some of the most discussed or the most visited blog posts here at Cold's Gold Factory and it is especially helpful for new or returning readers to find great posts that they may have missed.

By a longshot, the most popular posts from the month of February were the posts dealing with the Love Is In The Air holiday event and farming the needed Lovely Charms. 

Best Place To Farm Lovely Charms 2012 - This holiday specific blog post was designed to bring attention to my favorite Lovely Charm farming location and killing Slags.  While Throne of Tides may be prefer by some, I prefer the Slags myself.

Making Gold With Lovely Charm Farming - The debate stirring post.  Which is more time efficient: Farming all the Charms to make Bracelets or using the daily holiday event quests to gather your Love tokens?

Goblinism From The Early Years And Beyond - This was a fun post to write and showed just a handful of the ways I've learned to hustle over the earlier years of my life.

Using Inflation In WoW To Make More Gold - Here I discuss the strategy of using inflation to your advantage by buying materials now for the selling crafted products after the prices inflate.

Guild Challenges & Reflections On The Random Invite Guild - The all random invite guild hit the level 25 guild level cap and this was my summary post on just how much gold I made passively.  I also discuss how I could have promoted more guild challenges to earn extra gold each week.

Auction House Junkies February Recap

During February we released 2 new episodes of The Auction House Junkies podcast.  I also created and displayed The Auction House Junkies Cast Member Photo so you can see what the three of us look like, well sort of - LOL.  I also debuted the Auction House Junkies Swag Shop on Zazzle and the Auction House Junkies Official Squidoo Page, where you can vote on your favorite cast member, leave show topic ideas, and answer polls and questions.  Be sure to stop by and check them out.

AHJ - Episode #24: Cold Plays Mono-Blue - The guys pushed the time up and called me just as I started a MTGO tournament where I had drafted an all Blue Deck for sealed.

AHJ - Episode #25: French Dip - The infamous French Dip sandwich show.



Enjoy The Posts Here at Cold's Gold Factory? Check Out Cold's Mysterious Fortune Card Mastery Gold Making Guide. Also Check Out My Favorite All Around WoW Gold Making Guide or the PvP and Gold Making Combo and J!inx - Clothing For Gamers And Geeks.

2 New Features Added To WoW That Are Nice Additions

2 Nice New Features Added To WoW

There have been a couple of nice additions to the World of Warcraft UI that make our life a little easier.  I'm not sure how long these 2 changes have been live in WoW or what path they were added in, but I believe it has been within the last couple of patches.  I had just recently noticed both of these changes and I have been using them since I discovered the changes.  Maybe you are like me and missed the additions in the patch notes, so I present them to you today.



New Auction House UI Feature - Crafted Armor View

 Crafted Recipe Armor Viewing

Crafted recipe armor viewing is a nice addition to the auction house user interface in WoW.  What exactly do I mean by "crafted recipe armor viewing"?  Previously, when searching the rare Bind-on-Pick-up crafting recipes on the auction house, we were unable to see what the finished crafted product would look like.  You had to go to wowhead and search for the item and pray someone had submitted a screenshot of the crafted item.  Sometimes there was no screenshot to even refer to and if there was, it probably looks different on your character's race than it does on the example image. 

With the change to the standard auction house UI, that is now longer an issue.  You can Control-Left Click on any weapon or armor recipe listed in the auction house to see what the crafted item would look like on your character.  If you take a look at the image above, you will see what I mean.  The character image shows her naked with just the Boots of Utter Darkness equipped.  This is a nice addition that makes it much easier to determine what a crafted item looks like prior to buying the recipe, which is great for your own mogging needs (since many are BoP recipes) or for finding recipe based items to craft for Transmogrification.

New Search Backpack Feature In WoW

Backpack Search Feature

The second nice feature that has been added to the game is the backpack search function.  While it may not seem very useful it does come in handy once you know it is there!  At the top of your open main backpack screen you should see a search window.  You can enter in anything you want and the items that match your search will stay visible, while the non-matching items will be darkened out.  Check the image above.  You can see I did a search for "ranger" gear in my bags.  This made it super fast and easy to see that I only had the Chest and Legs on me.  While this isn't a huge change, it is very effective at cutting down your time when hunting for specific items within your bags.  This has been very helpful when building and sorting set pieces to sell for transmogrification buyers.

Anyone found any better uses for these two additions to WoW?

Enjoy The Posts Here at Cold's Gold Factory? Check Out Cold's Mysterious Fortune Card Mastery Gold Making Guide. Also Check Out My New Favorite All Around WoW Gold Making Guide and J!inx - Clothing For Gamers And Geeks.

How To Make Gold During End Of Expansion Lulls | Up & Down Markets

How To Make WoW Gold During The End Of The Expansion

Cataclysm has ran it's course.  The final Cataclysm content patch has already been deployed to live servers for a while now.  The servers are less busy.  Competition is less fierce in many markets.  End game raids are being conquered.  Players are taking time off until Mists of Pandaria launches.  Welcome to the lull that we see at every expansion's end.  The Diablo 3 release date has been announced, so we can expect to see even more of a decline in the WoW population once Diablo 3 launches in 2 months. 

With the expansion ending the players activities in game tend to change.  Understanding how these changes affect the demand for items on the WoW auction house, will help you to supply items in the markets with increased demand.  Staying out of or cutting back on other markets may be a wise choice this late in the expansion.  Remember that every server is unique and not all server's will follow the same trends, but there are many similarities that can be generalized.  Let's look deeper at how to make gold during the end of an expansion.

Increased Demand Markets

These are markets that always see an increase in demand.  This increased demand can result in more sales and / or higher purchase prices.

1. Netherweave, Frostweave, & Embersilk Bags - Bored players are rolling new alts.  These leveling characters need bags and many can afford the more expensive bags instead of just the standard NW Bags.
2. Profession Bags - New characters pick up new profesions and they need bags too.
3. Profession Leveling Items / Choke Point Materials - The materials needed to level a profession are good sellers as players are leveling their alts up prior to the expansion, when it will become more expensive.
4. Blacksmithing Rods For Enchanters - Enchanting Rods and their required materials are a good seller as players roll Enchanting alts and need the rods to level up.
5. Vanity Items - The combination of less things to do and less items to buy, leads to larger gold reserves.  Players with extra gold are more willing to spend that gold on high ticket vanity items like companion pets, mounts, and gear for transmogrification.
6. Glyphs - New alts and returning Scroll of Resurrection 80's need glyphs.
7. BoA / Twink Enchants - New characters with new BoA gear for leveling quickly will buy up the BiS enchants for the heirloom gear.  These same enchants are good for twink characters and twinking is always more popular during expansions lulls when players are bored and trying new things.

Decreased Demand Markets

The decreased demand markets can get ugly in no time.  As demand dries up, you see less sales.  As less sales are made, undercutting amongst competition gets worse and drives the prices down.  Those items that do sell, end up selling for less gold per sale.

1. Raid Consumables - Flasks, Foods, Potions etc. as they aren't required for LFR and more players are beating the end raid content.  Also summer is coming and WoW raid teams tend to fall apart during summer vacations.
2. End Game Upgrades - Gems, Enchants, Belt Buckles, etc. will lose demand the closer we get to Mists of Pandaria. 
3. Darkmoon Faire Cards, Decks, Trinkets, & Inferno Ink - They have dropped enough already, but the value will continue to decline.  Inferno Ink is already a damn near dead market and it will only get worse.
4. Last Tier of Raw Materials - Cata Ores, Herbs, And Leathers will all drop in value as more players are on alts and are gathering while they level.  A drop in player population also means less buyers, which contributes to auction house flooding by bots and ultimately leads to drops in prices.  You may already be seeing the prices trending downwards on your server.

Expansions End Is Stockpiling Time

There are many factors that lead to the dropping in prices of raw materials at the end of an expansion.  It never fails.  Remember the great market crashes prior to Cataclysm? The prices will drop as more players pick up gathering professions on alts or are out in the World of Warcraft leveling new characters or Ideal Alts.  Less players will be requiring the materials as the prices of the end products are dropping with less demand.  When the prices start to bottom out and reach their lowest points, it is time to build your stockpile for going into the new Mists of Pandaria expansion.  Stay tuned for the next Gold Blogging Carnival here at Cold's Gold Factory, where the discussion topic is on Stockpiling and Inflation Hedging for MoP.

The discussion in the comments is getting good.  
Be sure to weigh in with your own opinions or share your experiences.

Enjoy The Posts Here at Cold's Gold Factory? Check Out Cold's Mysterious Fortune Card Mastery Gold Making Guide. Also Check Out My New Favorite All Around WoW Gold Making Guide and J!inx - Clothing For Gamers And Geeks.

April Gold Blogging Carnival Topic - 2012

Cold's Gold Blogging Carnival - April 2012 Topic

A big thanks to all of the participants who submitted entries for last month's blogging carnival. Hopefully you will continue to participate in the monthly shared topics. Participation from newer bloggers is also highly encouraged. Everyone is welcome to write a post for the blogging carnivals at Cold's Gold Factory. Again, thank you to all the bloggers who submitted posts for the March Topic: Looking Back & Learning From It. If you missed the March carnival, be sure to check it out!

What If I Don't Have A Blog And I Want To Participate?

If you don't have your own site, you can still participate in the gold blogging carnivals. Sometimes a topic may tickle your fancy or you may have a unique spin on a blogging carnival topic that you would like to have read by others. Well, you are in luck. There are sites that will post and host your content as a guest post. Just follow the normal blogging carnival rules that the others follow and get your post hosted and live prior to the carnival. Then, just submit the link to me for inclusion in the upcoming gold blogging carnival.

The  friendly sites willing to host your content are:

1. Goldgrub's Goblin Academy - Contact: Me (Cold)

  

April 2012 Gold Blogging Carnival Topic

The upcoming WoW expansion Mists of Pandaria is coming.  Don't be left out in the cold.  Mists of Pandaria is bringing new talent changes, a new monk player class, and the intriguing WoW Battle Pet System.  You must plan ahead, if you intend to make gold like a boss during the first few months of the new WoW expansion.  Not only do we need a plan for our stockpiles, but we also need an inflation battling strategy.  Which brings me to the April Topic:

 What Is Your Stockpiling Plan For Profiting & Hedging Against Inflation in MoP?

Enjoy The Posts Here at Cold's Gold Factory? Check Out Cold's Mysterious Fortune Card Mastery Gold Making Guide. Also Check Out My New Favorite All Around WoW Gold Making Guide and J!inx - Clothing For Gamers And Geeks.

March Blogging Carnival - Looking Back & Learning From It

Cold's Gold blogging Carnival - March Edition

Cold's Gold Blogging Carnival - 2012


Welcome to another 2012 edition of Cold's Gold Blogging Carnival. These carnivals will continue to take place the 11th day of every month and will be hosted here at Cold's Gold Factory. All World of Warcraft bloggers are welcome to participate and feedback both here and on the original authors' sites is strongly encouraged. So show some support and please leave some feedback in the comments section. These bloggers put a lot of time and hard work into these blogging carnival posts so please tell them what you think.

If you would like to be included in the next month's carnival, please review the guidelines for Cold's Gold Blogging Carnivals and submit your live post link via email (ssmith0911 at live dot com) before the 10th of the month. Read up on the benefits of participating in blogging carnivals at my other blog designed to help new bloggers, Blogging Vitals.  (Lots of tips for those of you starting out or interested in blogging.)  Articles for the CGF carnival are listed in the order they are received. Thank you to all the bloggers participating in this months carnival!

If you are not a blogger, you can still participate in the monthly carnivals as you can have a post hosted at Goldgrubs.com.  Now I present to you this month's participants answering the question:

Using your knowledge that you have gained from auction house experience:  If you were starting over as a gold maker, what is one thing you would do differently than the first time, and why?

****************

Don't Stop Farming by Farli of The Overcut

Wide Horizons by Shannon of Shannon's Shenanigans

Making Gold In WoW | Looking Back For Improvements by Cold of Goldgrub's Goblin Academy

Improvements by Epidermuss of Wrags To Riches

If I Knew Then What I Know Now by Nev Of Auction House Addict

Thanks again to all of this month's participants.  Be sure to check back later for next month's carnival topic and remember to look for next month's gold blogging carnival on the 11th.  If you have a topic idea, don't be afraid to send it in.  We may use your idea, which will get you proper credit as well.  

Until next month,

Keep on keepin' on!

Enjoy The Posts Here at Cold's Gold Factory? Check Out Cold's Mysterious Fortune Card Mastery Gold Making Guide. Also Check Out My New Favorite All Around WoW Gold Making Guide and J!inx - Clothing For Gamers And Geeks.

Making Money Off Of The WoW Collector's Edition - Reader Submission

Making Money Off Of The WoW Collector's Editions
I received an email from a reader that I would like some help answering.  If you are knowledgeable in this area, please consider leaving your opinion or ideas as well in the comments so we can help her determine a course of action.  I will respond with my own ideas and thoughts on the topic, but really would appreciate other opinions as well.  Here is the emailed question:

Hey Cold,


First off, I'd like to thank you for your fantastic blog. You've helped me make lots of money in WoW and it has generally been a fun, helpful addition to my WoW experience. Anyway, this might be out of your area of expertise, but I thought I'd throw this question your way anyway.

I have two sealed Collector's Edition copies of Wrath of the Lich King and have been wondering if there is an optimal time to sell them. In general the price has increased slowly since 2008 but it seems to be staying around $250 lately. Since it's pretty clear the value of mini pets will increase with the release of Mists of Pandaria, I was thinking perhaps the value of all Collector's Editions will simultaneously increase but that's nothing more than novice speculation.

Have you paid any attention to this and do you have any thoughts on when the best time to sell my CE's are?


Have a good one,


Natasha aka Shamette on Kilrogg - US PvE

My Opinion On Selling The Collector's Editions Box Sets

Thanks Natasha for the great email submission.  Your question really got me thinking deeper as this isn't an area I have actual experience in.  I myself have never bought a WoW Collector's Edition set and I also don't purchase the companion pets or mounts from the Blizzard store.  Well, not for myself anyways, as I have purchased them for giveaways and contests on the blogs.  So I had to dig a little deeper and look into the proposed question:

Do you have any thoughts on when is the best time to sell my Collector's Editions?

Breaking it down...

What holds the value in the Collector's Edition boxed sets?  The game itself? Not much as the price drops over time on older expansions.

The music CD, art book, and other goodies?  Nope - Doubt it, as we can't give that stuff away on our Auction House Junkies giveaways. 

So what's left? The Collector's Edition only companion pets!  Much like the WoW Trading Card Game loot card mounts and pets, these CE vanity pets can sell for top dollar on eBay or other TCG sites.  So, I assume the majority of the value of the older Collector's Editions is held by the rare Collector's Edition pets and not much else.

Now when is the best time to sell these?  Assuming that the value increase over time as more and more of the out of print World of Warcraft Collector's Editions are opened and the pet codes are claimed.  So the longer you wait, the more codes are claimed and the less there are left available.  This gradual drop in supply is coupled with a gradual increase in the price of the CE boxed sets. 

Now, fast forward to the upcoming WoW Mists of Pandaria expansion.  What do we know about companion pets?  The majority of the in game companion pets will become BoE, can be leveled, then can be sold on the AH or traded to other players.  All from the upcoming MoP Battle Pet System.  The Battle Pet System still has many unanswered questions, but we do know that most pets will become tradeable.  I say most, because it was specifically stated that the majority of the pets would be tradeable, but not all. 

So, are the Collector's Edition pets going to be some of the few that are left untouched?  If so, we can speculate that the value of these CE pets and their respective CE boxed sets would continue to rise, much like they are now.  If they are made part of the Battle Pet System and are tradeable, then you can bet that the price of the CE box sets will crash.  Why?  Because those same CE pets would be able to be purchased off of the in game WoW auction house with in game gold.

Current Pricing at Amazon:
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Collector's Edition- $64.61
World Of Warcraft Burning Crusade Collector's Edition - $219.99
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Collector's Edition - $149.99
Diablo III: Collector's Edition - $99.99 Pre-Order (See the Diablo 3 Collector's Edition Contents here)

When to sell the CE boxed sets?  It's hard to say exactly since we don't know the fate of the CE pets in Mists of Pandaria.  Taking the lower risk approach, I would say sell them before Mists of Pandaria.  If you are willing to gamble, hang on and see what happens once the Pet Battle System launches.  If you bought them to sell for real cash, to the safe out and sell them ahead of time.  If you wait until MoP, you may be stuck only able to sell them for in game gold on the auction house.  Or Natasha, since you have two, sell one now and hold onto the other.  Or you can always wait a little longer until we have more information disclosed on the specifics of the Battle Pet System and can look ahead and determine value for these and other companion pets.

The Diablo 3 Collector's Edition is going to also include an in game WoW companion Pet, which could present a real world money making opportunity should they be spared from the Battle Pet trading system in Mists of Pandaria.

What does everyone else think on this topic?

Enjoy The Posts Here at Cold's Gold Factory? Check Out Cold's Mysterious Fortune Card Mastery Gold Making Guide. Also Check Out My Favorite All Around WoW Gold Making Guide and My Favorite Shop: J!inx - Clothing For Gamers And Geeks.