If you give a mouse a cookie... (WoW)

[thistlechaser]

Sometimes things change, no matter how much you don't want them to. More and more I've been playing on the Alliance side, but I don't feel like I have a choice in the matter. Somehow nearly everyone I knew on Horde is suddenly gone. (Or not so suddenly, in some cases.) Most of the few people left who log on never talk. Some found other friends elsewhere, some are just silent, some long since vanished or stopped talking. I've spent too many days on Horde side talking to no one, with only AH competition showing up on my friends list. (Do you know how depressing that is? Having the only active names on your friends list being people who you're tracking for AH reasons?)

By chance, I found a good guild on Alliance. Good RPers, good people, active, always people on to chat to. I like them and they seem to like me. I should be happy there, I would be happy there if I were there by choice, but I miss how Horde used to be.

Okay, I'm off the track already! This was going to be a post about WoW AH/economy. I was getting to the point of, since I spend all my time on Alliance, what's the point of playing the Horde AH anymore? I log on a couple times a day to restock, get undercut to hell and back, but I can't make myself sit around in the Horde silence anymore, just staring at the AH. I'm approaching 500K, but if I'm playing Alliance, all that gold on Horde side is even more wasted.

Yesterday I figured I'd just give up the AH game as soon as all my stock was gone, but today I was reading this goldmaking blog, and my attention was re-caught. My first reaction to that post was OH NO YOU IDIOT, YOU'RE TOTALLY WRONG, SHUT UP!, but in a way he's not wrong. I'm pretty sure things will not work the way he intends them to, one person is too small of an impact, but it's still an interesting idea.

If you don't want to read his whole blog post, his basic idea is: He gives tons of bags away (or sells them cheap on the AH), because when players have bag space they make more gold (even just not dropping junk and instead vendoring it), and when players have more gold they'll buy more -- including from him.

That's a really interesting idea. He tied in the logic of how giving away food stamps helps the economy (people buy food, supporting the local shops, the shops can then hire more, those people now have money to buy things with...). Like I said, I don't think he can make enough of an impact himself, and I sure as hell am not going to sell my bags cheaper, but it sure is interesting to think about these things.

Economists study the WoW economy for reasons just like this! :D

And to brag:

The following sellers have been the most active in posting auctions for Netherweave Bag in the past 96 hours:

Kianlar: 463 auctions. (Me!)
Ozmah: 51 auctions.
Cazadora: 46 auctions. (1)
Jyl: 35 auctions.
Hortense: 30 auctions. (2)

1 and 2 are alts of each other. Also, my numbers slipped a lot since I'm not around to babysit the AH anymore. I make 3-13 gold profit per bag, so that's 1,389-6,019 profit in the last four days based on bags alone.

Ah, all these gold blogs I'm reading are bad influences, they're making me start talking about it, too. HERE READERS, HAVE ALL MY SECRETS :P

Comments

[veloxe.livejournal.com]

Interesting idea about the bags, Although I'm not entirely sure about it. I mean, asides from the most expensive bags most people tend to go for the bigger bag sizes anyways. Well, as long as you aren't gouging them for the bags. So by giving them away or selling them cheap aren't you just shifting where the gold is spent? Not necessarily making more or it that wouldn't be made before.

Like if the bags are 30g each and you give away 4 of them to 1 guy, odds are he would have bought those bags anyways so you're just shifting where he will spend that 120g. Unfortunately you can't even say that the 120g will come back to you from him, odds are it's going to go somewhere else (repairs, flights, pets/mounts from vendors, other AH people).

I mean, you could argue that it might give a long term effect like if he sees you and someone else are selling something for the same price the guy might go "Hey, that guy gave me bags! I will buy from him." But that's a rather large roll of the dice when you could just make the money off the bag and probably still get more gold out of them later anyways.

Seems like a rather over-complicated strategy to me. Or maybe it's just because I am rich in WoW so I'm not the kind of bag-stamp person who would appreciate free bags.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately you can't even say that the 120g will come back to you from him, odds are it's going to go somewhere else (repairs, flights, pets/mounts from vendors, other AH people).

Yeah, exactly.

I mean, you could argue that it might give a long term effect like if he sees you and someone else are selling something for the same price the guy might go "Hey, that guy gave me bags! I will buy from him." But that's a rather large roll of the dice

He's doing all this from a level 1 mule, so it's not even tied to his main selling character...

The more I read his blog, the more I think he's just being a nice person rather than doing this for self interests. He likes teaching folks to make money, to get them playing the AH. To me, that's just potentially setting someone up to be your own future competition.

[veloxe.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess it depends on where he sits. Like, if he's sitting on top of his golden throne is his 4 mile high ivory tower then competition doesn't really mean much to him. The sort of wise old "when you can snatch the pebble from my hand" master kind of person then ya he might feel the need to spread the wealth and information to the world.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I think he just hit 500K, so he's really not up that high! He might feel otherwise, though...

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

I AM BACK FROM MY BRIEF HILARIOUS ALLIANCE SIDE JOURNEY. I know I am not around a lot, but what day is good for you for spring visits? I have raid Saturday and a mom visit the Wednesday following BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS FREE SO FAR.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Friday/tomorrow I have RP planned, but other than that I'm free! Greyspell and I will RP sometime, but we don't have a night set yet. Eeeee! Want to try Sunday or a non-Wednesday weeknight next week? :D

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

Sunday is totally rad! I will totally invite Greyspell also! He likes gardens.

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

Maybe around sevenish CST? Or later since you totally live in the past. I AM TALKING TO YOU FROM THE FUTURE. SURELY YOU ARE IMPRESSED.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Perfect! Haken isn't supposed to tell people where their house is, but if Lu brings Greyspell, Haken isn't breaking orders and then Greyspell can come visit, too!

That's... 5 server (PST), right? I'LL BE THERE!

[firebyrd.livejournal.com]

If you want to send some of that gold Alliance side, I'd be happy to help you. Neutral ah has that awful 15% cut, but still better than having it do nothing if you want to use it on Alliance.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks, but I moved it when someone was switching an alt over.

And, surprisingly, I seem to have made 4K by leveling 1-64 (with herbing/mining as I go along, but never setting out just to do those things).

[firebyrd.livejournal.com]

Leveling provides tons of money. It's partly why I never understand the people that are chronically short of money. I'd never have to send any funds to my alts these days if I didn't like to power level my professions the second I hit the lowest level I can make the next tier stuff for. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Just tonight some guy mentioned he had a grand total of FOUR GOLD. At level 60-something. I boggled. He didn't even consider himself broke, which technically he isn't, but... four gold! Totally broke, yes.