Top 3 Diablo 3 Money-Making Tips
I'm sure most of you have looked around online at some of the other Diablo III money-making guides. If you're like me, you noticed that most of the tips these guys hand out aren't really tips at all, but common-sense strategies. So what can you, as a Diablo 3 player, do to help combat the flow of misinformation about it?
Beyond the obvious ethical dilemma of them being slightly misleading, the biggest problem lies within the fact that quite often, these so-called "tips" for sale are flat-out wrong. In this section, I'll list three of the most common unhelpful tips in the Diablo 3 game, point out where they're wrong, and identify some of the absolute best, simple, and actual tactics that you can use in-game to help you become a better player.
So what are the 3 most unhelpful tips for making money in Diablo 3 and how can you avoid them?
Tip #1 - Know the prices.
This is one I see spouted off time and time again, and it's one that sounds totally reasonable. Indeed, knowing the prices of items in Diablo 3 is certainly a factor in making gold. However, most of these so-called "guides" simply say "look at the lowest price of an item, and sell yours for that". The truth is, the Diablo 3 real money auction house (RMAH) is (especially right now) an extremely volatile market. Hundreds of thousands of players post auctions every day. There are a large sum of listings. Per item, that's usually at least a few hundred concurrent auctions at any given time. Not only that, but the price of items fluctuates multiple times per day, just like the real market. It is likely that you will never know the exact market price of every item. You can guess, yes. But expecting to know the price of any item (weapon, armor, or other items) in Diablo 3 is just unreasonable.
However, all hope is not lost. I advise you to find your niche in the Diablo 3 RMAH market. Some of the best advise I can give you is to pick some ultra-specific versions of items, and watch them closely. Instead of "Staff of Leetness", check out "Staff of Leetness" with +7% experience, or 5% Gold Find. The items in question are actually not as important as you may think - with so many players buying and listing auctions, yours are likely to sell, if they are prices reasonably. Make sure to check your list of a few items frequently - several times per day, if possible. After a couple weeks of watching, you'll be able to figure out the relative market price.
Tip #2 - Watch the Diablo 3 market (supply and demand for items).
As I said previously, watching the market on Diablo 3 is a good thing, and is incredibly important. However, especially because there are is no add-on support in D3, you will not be able to watch every auction for every item all the time. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to watch all the auctions for just "Staff of Leetness". These other guides tell you to "watch the market" by looking at a few auctions a couple days a week or so. That's a good way to lose money, not to make it.
Price fluctuations for specific items - especially when making a decision to bid or buy - need to be monitored far closer than most people are suggesting. With millions playing on incredibly crowded auction house servers, expect prices to change by the hour, if not minute. Observing the market for a week or two by checking once every two days will give you a false sense of market value. You'll need to check the RMAH several times per day if you really want to make money.
Tip #3 -Undercutting
Oh boy. This is the big one. Undercutting, to a certain extent, is fine. However, undercutting to the point where it considerably lowers your profit margin is not good for your bottom line. The RMAH is an extremely competitive market, yes, but there are millions of auctions listed at any one time. Attempting to be the low-price leader 24/7 is only going to lead to frustration and heavy losses. Think about it, what if every single player used this same technique to sell their items in Diablo 3? It would devalue those items so much that everyone trying to sell would eventually experience a loss of gold.
First off, take a look at the big picture, such as what you paid to craft or acquire your gear in the first place. Make sure you are still making a profit, and preferably one over 50%. It's definitely worth your time to wait and allow items to sell for their true value, than to just dump them off quickly for a little coin. I'm not saying there isn't a time to get rid of items ASAP, but at this point in the game, patience is a virtue.
Conclusion
I'm not trying to point fingers at any other guide-writers here. However, when I see an influx of "guides" that list tips like the above, I can't help but get upset. To me, guides like those are scamming their customers. Providing "common sense" information that not only isn't common sense but is incredibly wrong and potentially harmful for someone's financial well-being is, in my opinion, a terrible thing to do. So in an effort to combat and prove these guides as unhelpful, I'm offering my own guide that actually includes step-by-step guide that includes instructions for money farming on Diablo 3.
Beyond the obvious ethical dilemma of them being slightly misleading, the biggest problem lies within the fact that quite often, these so-called "tips" for sale are flat-out wrong. In this section, I'll list three of the most common unhelpful tips in the Diablo 3 game, point out where they're wrong, and identify some of the absolute best, simple, and actual tactics that you can use in-game to help you become a better player.
So what are the 3 most unhelpful tips for making money in Diablo 3 and how can you avoid them?
Tip #1 - Know the prices.
This is one I see spouted off time and time again, and it's one that sounds totally reasonable. Indeed, knowing the prices of items in Diablo 3 is certainly a factor in making gold. However, most of these so-called "guides" simply say "look at the lowest price of an item, and sell yours for that". The truth is, the Diablo 3 real money auction house (RMAH) is (especially right now) an extremely volatile market. Hundreds of thousands of players post auctions every day. There are a large sum of listings. Per item, that's usually at least a few hundred concurrent auctions at any given time. Not only that, but the price of items fluctuates multiple times per day, just like the real market. It is likely that you will never know the exact market price of every item. You can guess, yes. But expecting to know the price of any item (weapon, armor, or other items) in Diablo 3 is just unreasonable.
However, all hope is not lost. I advise you to find your niche in the Diablo 3 RMAH market. Some of the best advise I can give you is to pick some ultra-specific versions of items, and watch them closely. Instead of "Staff of Leetness", check out "Staff of Leetness" with +7% experience, or 5% Gold Find. The items in question are actually not as important as you may think - with so many players buying and listing auctions, yours are likely to sell, if they are prices reasonably. Make sure to check your list of a few items frequently - several times per day, if possible. After a couple weeks of watching, you'll be able to figure out the relative market price.
Tip #2 - Watch the Diablo 3 market (supply and demand for items).
As I said previously, watching the market on Diablo 3 is a good thing, and is incredibly important. However, especially because there are is no add-on support in D3, you will not be able to watch every auction for every item all the time. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to watch all the auctions for just "Staff of Leetness". These other guides tell you to "watch the market" by looking at a few auctions a couple days a week or so. That's a good way to lose money, not to make it.
Price fluctuations for specific items - especially when making a decision to bid or buy - need to be monitored far closer than most people are suggesting. With millions playing on incredibly crowded auction house servers, expect prices to change by the hour, if not minute. Observing the market for a week or two by checking once every two days will give you a false sense of market value. You'll need to check the RMAH several times per day if you really want to make money.
Tip #3 -Undercutting
Oh boy. This is the big one. Undercutting, to a certain extent, is fine. However, undercutting to the point where it considerably lowers your profit margin is not good for your bottom line. The RMAH is an extremely competitive market, yes, but there are millions of auctions listed at any one time. Attempting to be the low-price leader 24/7 is only going to lead to frustration and heavy losses. Think about it, what if every single player used this same technique to sell their items in Diablo 3? It would devalue those items so much that everyone trying to sell would eventually experience a loss of gold.
First off, take a look at the big picture, such as what you paid to craft or acquire your gear in the first place. Make sure you are still making a profit, and preferably one over 50%. It's definitely worth your time to wait and allow items to sell for their true value, than to just dump them off quickly for a little coin. I'm not saying there isn't a time to get rid of items ASAP, but at this point in the game, patience is a virtue.
Conclusion
I'm not trying to point fingers at any other guide-writers here. However, when I see an influx of "guides" that list tips like the above, I can't help but get upset. To me, guides like those are scamming their customers. Providing "common sense" information that not only isn't common sense but is incredibly wrong and potentially harmful for someone's financial well-being is, in my opinion, a terrible thing to do. So in an effort to combat and prove these guides as unhelpful, I'm offering my own guide that actually includes step-by-step guide that includes instructions for money farming on Diablo 3.
Source...