Have an item you need for crafting, but can't find the time to go farm it yourself? Try hiring a lower level character to farm it for you.
We all were noobies in World of Warcraft at some point. Some of you haven't been playing very long. Others, like myself, have been around since Vanilla WoW. While swimming in hundreds of thousands of gold, we easily forget where we came from. Remember the first time you had to save for your very first mount and how hard it was to make gold back then as a low level character?
Well you can help someone out by contracting them to farm for you. You can get your materials delivered to you while spreading some gold to the low level character you hire. Often times these low level players will turn into longer term farmers for you. They know you have plenty of gold to pay them and some will continue to farm for you well into their leveling process.
Tips For Finding and Keeping Lowbie Farmers
These low level characters willing to farm for gold won't just come knocking at your door. You have to seek them out. Once you find them, you have to nurture your relationship. You need to be supportive, helpful, and you need to be prompt when paying. Keep your farmers happy and you will be more productive and more profitable with your auction house crafting business.
- Bark In Trade Chat "Looking For Level XX Player Who Needs Help Making Gold." - Pick a level around the same level as the mobs you need them to farm. Ex: If you need Spider's Silk, find a character around the same level as the spider's that drop the Spider's Silk. Why? Characters that are getting XP while earning gold for you tend to farm for longer.
- Offer A Fair Wage - Don't try to underpay your lowbie farmers. Although they may not understand the true value of the items they are farming for you, make sure your pay is fair, above the average sale price, if you can fit it into your profit scheme.
- Send An In Game Email Follow Up - Make sure you follow up your verbal agreement with a written contract through the in-game email system. Why? This helps them remember who you are and where to send the items when finished. Teach them how to send items COD to you, if the don't understand the process. If they are mailing the items to a different character, be sure to include that information in this follo-up email.
- Make a Friend | Don't Hire A Slave - Treat your new farmer as a friend or business partner. Don't boss him around like he's your slave. Remember your farmer is free to leave at any time. If you treat him poorly, he may be working for your competition next week!
- If You Choose To Re-List, Do It On An Alt - So you have extra materials left over or the price has spiked and you want to unload a few for quick profits. Don't relist them on your same character! Change to an alternate character before relisting your farmers items. You don't want him selling you Spider's Silks for 3g each and then have him see you selling them for 10 gold each on the Auction House.
- Show You Care - To keep your farmers extra happy to be working with you, send them some gifts occasionally. All lowbies can use some nice enchants, gear upgrades, or vanity pets. Remember a lot of these players are close to broke and will appreciate any assistance or freebies you can reward them with. Setting up an incentive plan for bonuses at certain levels. I like to give a bonus if they send me a full 12 stack email. Let them know the incentive plan and they will work harder for you so they can reach these free bonuses.
- Small Eggs
- Spider's Silk
- Large Fangs
- Pearls
- Arcane Crystals
- Heavy Hides
- Glowcaps
- Rugged Leather
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Great tip! I love how you teach to treat your farmers with respect instead of as slaves. Keep it a professional business relationship and everyone wins!
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