Beginner's Guide to Grinding the Auction House (AH)

I take no credit for this work; source:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/comments/uqdco/beginners_guide_to_grinding_the_auction_house_ah/

Hi there. I'm REInvestor and I'd like to teach you the basics of how to profitably farm the AH. I don't use macros, I'm not a hacker, and I'm not especially smart; I basically just have too much free time. If I can do this, so can you. This is a bit of read, but in it, I share just about everything I know about how to make money on the auction house.

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There are many strategies for profitably arbitraging the AH, but I am going to teach you my primary technique which has allowed me to earn an absurd amount with very minimal effort.

I started with 250k on the night of 5/28 and I now have 13m + 5m in auctions/inventory plus I've geared up a bit (screenshot). I have not kept detailed track of the hours because you don't really need be going all the time. I'm not sure how many hours I've spent doing this, but I would estimate it at about 20.

How Much Time Does This Take?

Unlike farming in-game, you don't need to be actively in the game to make a lot of money at this. I am on reddit or using the computer for other stuff and then occasionally alt-tabbing back into the game to check on things. Here's a rough estimate of the time I spend:

• 5-10 minutes picking up inventory
• 5-10 minutes pricing/listing the inventory
• 5-10 minutes over the course of the next two hours alt-tabbing back into D3 to check the auctions and list new items

Over those two hours (75% of which I spent redditing), I can expect to net typically 250-750k. Not bad right?

Now, having said that, you're gonna have to invest some time into learning the market. I can now price my stuff super fast without researching every piece which saves me a lot of time, whereas a newbie will need to research heavily at the beginning so they don't overprice. Nonetheless, I think this is the most profitable way to spend time in-game (not the most fun for everyone, obviously), and is something that even people with low level characters can do.

Focus on Bargain Armor

I have dabbled into more specialized markets, but this is the core strategy that got me started: buying cheap, high-value armor and flipping it quickly.

We've all seen those 1d12h listings on the first page of search that are just insane, but by the time you check the item and decide to buy, it's already been sold. We're mostly buying from people who got something in the game, don't want to spend the time researching a price, and just throw it up for anywhere from 5-40k.

My sole effort is to locate those items then flip them quickly. Pretty simple right?

Here's What We're Buying: Just-listed L60 armor priced under 40k with at least 2 useful affixes in decent quantities stats and high armor ratings.

Useful Affixes: STR, DEX, INT, VIT, ALL-RES, MF, GF, & IAS. Definitely read this thread for more. It doesn't count if the item has say str + dex, but nothing else. You basically want one offensive affix + 1 defensive/bonus affix to make an item desirable.

You generally don't want to buy an item with just one stat and a specific resistance (physical or fire resistance, for example); they just don't sell for much. What you really want are items with synergistic stats. So, DEX with VIT or MF, STR + IAS, INT + ALL-RES, and so on. These are the items that people will actually be looking for and will sell for much higher prices.

Do not buy an item if it says 1d10h or less. You only want 1d12h or 1d11h. The good deals will go quick, so if it's been on for an hour, then it's not a good enough deal to flip.

Also, make sure to select a generic character type if you don't have a L60 character. Otherwise, you'll only see gear at your level (although this strat is probably doable to a certain extent at the lower levels too).

Minimum Armor

These are the rough minimum armor levels that I need to see on an item before I'll buy it. Anything less, and the value declines markedly. I might still buy something that is a little less if it has awesome stats, though.

• Boots: 500
• Bracers: 400
• Chest: 675
• Gloves: 500
• Helm: 675
• Pants: 675
• Shoulders: 525

How to Sell the Items

Your goal is to sell the item very quickly, so you can sell something else. The prices you see of most items are too high. Try to price it so that it is a no-brainer for someone looking for the type of item. Ideally, I want to be the top-rated item for the common buyout limits (100k, 200k & so on). If everything else is listed for 200k, but they haven't sold in two hours, those prices are too high.

Search for similar items to yours. If you've got some boots with 75 int, and 100 vit, search for boots with 50 int and 75 vit with a max buyout of say 200k to see where you stack up. If you've got better stats and more armor than everything else, price a little higher, or a little lower if in the opposite situation.

You're gonna have to spend some time going through a few pages of auctions to get a feel for a proper price. Just remember that if you price too high, you're gonna have to wait 1.5 days to get that auction slot again. It's far better to be too low than too high.

When you list the item, list the buyout at whatever price you've determined, then the starting bid price at something about 30% lower. This is in-case it doesn't sell, you could still sell it at the end of the auction and not have to use a new auction slot to list it.

Items I Avoid

• Belts. I honestly haven't explored the market to know enough about why this happening, but nearly all of the belts available list strength (and often a lot of it), but the market for belts with strength doesn't seem to be there. I have bought and sold a lot of belts and it has been only marginally profitable for me.
• Rings & Amulets. There are absolutely ways to make money with these, but you need to become more of a market specialist which is not worth the effort to me.
• Class-Specific Items. Wizard hats, mighty belts, and so on. The market for these is smaller and it has not been worth the effort. Again, if you specialize, you can probably make money. Be careful when searching chest armor and helms as if you're searching for a DH & WZ respectively, their class items will dilute your results and cause you to make a bad buy.
• Weapons (Sort-of). The market for weapons is much more efficient in my experience. DPS is (to a certain extent) the end-all, be-all which makes comparing/valuing weapons very easy for the layman so prices are more efficient. I have definitely made money flipping a few weapons, but finding deals has been time consuming for me.
• Offhand Items. Immediate comparison of items is basically impossible with mousing over each item to learn its stats. Until Blizz makes it easy to sort items by other stats than armor/price, offhand items are just too much effort for me to be interested.

Other Tips

• Don't Buy More Than You Sell. By the end of last week, I had four mules full of shit that I had bought for cheap. I ended up partnering with some redditors to sell it off for me, but I ended up losing probably a million gold. Once your inventory is full (10 or so items left in your stash with all auction slots loaded), only buy something if it is a screaming good deal.
• Don't Get Greedy. This is a Volume Game. If you think you could probably get 200k, but you know absolutely it'll sell at 125k, list it for 125k. An unusable auction slot could cost you several million depending on the volume you're doing. I'll price stuff so low sometimes, that I've tried to buyout my own listings on occasion. Remember, 90% of the items you see on the AH are priced too high and will basically never sell.
• You'll Probably Lose Gold Sometimes. I've bought things out when I shouldn't have. The worst was what I thought was a screaming deal on a 2h axe for 3m. I hadn't really studied the market and it seemed like a good deal, but I ending up having to list it for 2m to get rid of it. And yet, I've still made a huge amount of gold with minimal effort.
• Don't Hesitate. If you see a rare with a really high armor rating for 10k when the next item has way less armor, buy it immediately. You don't always hit homeruns, but it's really damned hard to lose money on these.

Other Thoughts

• Depreciation is Coming. I foresee even more massive depreciation coming with the inferno nerf and the ability to cancel auctions. First, there are just going to be more l60 items over time and even more once people can farm inferno easier. Then, you've got the fact that most auctions are priced to high currently. That will change, and the supply at lower price points will increase dramatically, further lowering prices.
• There Are Probably More Profitable Strategies. The strategy I use requires little thinking and little market knowledge. A strategy that requires detailed market knowledge could potentially offer higher returns
• Grinding the AH for IRL $ is Dumb. The $ price of gold is already pretty low and will get insanely low once the RMAH opens up. Don't think you're gonna do this as a business.
• I Do This For Fun. I don't really enjoy grinding inferno or smashing pots over and over. I get a certain thrill from playing the market. Having said that, I see nothing wrong with just farming the game, even if it might not be as productive/hr.
• Useful Threads. Here are some more threads on the subject which could be helpful.

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Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions, comments, or think I'm an idiot, feel free to post.

Good luck out there.

REInvestor

To Auction House, Salvage, or Sell: A Guide

I take no credit for this; source:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/comments/v0nqa/to_auction_house_salvage_or_sell_a_guide/

This guide is intended to help those who don't know what to do with the bag full of gear they just acquired on a farming run, and either spend way too much time trying to decide what to do with each piece or don't know that a particular stat is worthwhile and miss out on substantial gold as a result. While not hard and fast standards, these are the rules I usually stick to during my own farming sessions to give me the best results. (EDIT - This is for softcore AH only - don't use this if you play hardcore).

I. What Goes on the AH

Ideally, you are looking for items worth 10k+ on the AH, minimum. Anything less isn't worth your time or the auction slots, so they can just be sold or salvaged. Here are my general rules for each type of piece:

Armor Generally- The following are stat combos I look for on a piece where I think it will sell for 10k+ on the AH. If no number is listed for the stat, then that just means that typically any amount (on a level 60 item) should work.

• 15%+ magic find
• 18%+ gold find
• 220+ dex
• 220+ int
• 100+ int / 100+ vit
• 100+ (int or vit) / 50+ All Resist (AR)
• 100+ dex / 30+ (any resist) / 50+ AR
• (int or str or dex) / vit / AR
• vit / AR / armor

If the piece has a socket, consider that socket worth 40 of int/vit/str/dex and see if it meets one of the above. If the armor piece has one of those combos put it in your bank for the AH; if not I sell or salvage. This is however subject to the special slots below.

Special Armor Rules - The following pieces have additional stats to look out for that may alter the above list.

• Helm - Needs 20%+ magic/gold find in the absence of a socket. With an empty socket, it can have as little as 12%. (EDIT - for clarity, I don't mean to imply that all helmets need MF/GF - just that if it's all that piece brings to the table, it needs this amount to be worth selling on that stat alone)
• Bracer - Crit chance of 5%+, paired with high int or dex or any int/AR, int/vit is worth saving.
• Gloves - Keep anything with 13%+ Attack Speed (IAS). 8%+ crit chance and/or 25%+ crit damage can sub for another useful stat on the general armor list with int/dex gear.
• Boots - 11%+ movement speed can be subbed for a useful stat on the general armor list with int/dex gear.
• Amulet - Needs 20%+ magic/gold find to keep based on that alone. Also, keep to AH with any of the following: 300+ life on hit, 13%+ IAS, 7%+ crit chance, or 60%+ crit damage. These numbers can be lowered if paired with each other or any other useful stat.
• Rings - Exact same rules as Amulet, but divided by half. Generally, only half of the stats required of other armor are needed to save the ring. Rings sell well - when in doubt, save it.

Weapons - As we all know, weapons are mainly about DPS. Therefore my criteria is all about the minimum DPS a weapon needs to be sold. The quick and dirty cutoff is this: 1-handers need to be 700+ DPS and 2-handers need to be 1000+. This, however, can change based on the following, which I've roughly put in DPS terms (so a stat labeled -50 DPS means that a 1-hander with that stat should be kept at 650+ DPS, etc.)

• Hand-Crossbows: +100 DPS
• Bows / Crossbows: -75 DPS
• Cold Damage (X-bow Only): -150 DPS
• 100+ dex/int/vit: -50 DPS
• Socket: -50 DPS
• 50%+ Critical Hit Damage: -50 DPS
• 150+ Life on Hit (1h Only): -100 DPS

Off-Hands - I'm by no means an expert at this slot, and the lack of search functionality on the AH makes it a hit-or-miss proposition to attempt to generalize patterns in what sells well. Here is what is important to know, however:

• Sources/Mojos - The biggest factor is the +damage, where you want the top number to be 300+ to ensure a sale. Crit chance of 7%+ or high int also helps.
• Quivers - (Edit - credit to not_a_haddock) Good ones have some combination of 100+ dex, 8+ max discipline, crit chance, 14%+ IAS, and +x% of elemental arrow.
• Shields - Ideally, you want a high block percentage (17%+), the highest block amount (3.7k-4.7k), and 1100+ armor, plus a few useful stats (dex/vit/Life %/AR mainly).

Beyond these tips, off-hands seem to track the same numbers as general armor for magic find / gold find percentages.

II. I've found an item I should AH. Now what?

To effectively list gear on the AH, the first thing you should do is look for comparable items. What you want to do is find your item's "primary" stat, so that you can search for comparable items accordingly. For example, let's say you have some shoulders with 150 int, 50 vit, and 35 AR - in this case "int" is your primary stat. What you then want to do is search for shoulders using tight parameters for your primary stat, and looser parameters for the others. Here then, I would do a search for all shoulders with a minimum 140 int (tight), 25 vit (loose), and 20 AR (loose), and price myself under the lowest that comes up under that search.

By doing this, you ensure that someone who primarily wants int (and thus will be attracted to your piece in the first place) will choose yours based on cost over the dozens of other similar pieces. Also, don't be afraid to significantly undercut the pieces in your search if it seems that none of them are selling. If the lowest items all have 1d 11h durations, chances are they are priced appropriately and you don't need to undercut much. If they have been up a while, however, you may need to price substantially lower to ensure a sale.

Finally, a few more tips:

• Don't sweat heavily undercutting when you are sitting on a bag full of things that need to be put up on the AH. The 10 item limit can become a huge bottleneck toward making money, and it is better to make a chain of sells where you lose out on some potential gold than have your slots tied up by gear that you priced too high.
• If you need to clear some bag space quick, sell your gold find / magic find gear first. This gear has a very stable market, and you can undercut for very little and still effectively ensure a sale within 10-15 minutes.
• Always socket your items with plain squares (not flawless, but plain) before putting them up on the AH. The specific gem used depends on the nature of the item, but try to compliment the primary stat if possible.
• Utilize the string of 9s. There is a reason every store in the world does it - 99,999 gold just looks a lot less than 100,000 gold, especially when listed next to each other. Selling everything with trailing 9s is a great way of minimally undercutting and still selling your gear quickly.

III. This item is trash. Do I sell it, or salvage?

This answer may change over time depending on whether the essence market remains constant, but for right now the answer is simple:

• Salvage all level 60 gear and level 59 rings, amulets, and follower specials.
• Sell all other gear (first checking that your level 55 weapon isn't a level 60 in disguise with a reduced level requirement!).

Right now, inferno essences (guaranteed with level 60 drops) are selling at ~2k gold, and you also have a chance at salvaging yellow/orange mats which sell for even more. This makes salvaging easily worth it for level 60 gear of all types.

So that's what I've learned so far after a few weeks of farming and learning the AH. There have been countless times I've almost salvaged something such as a blue amulet with solely 500 life on hit only to check the AH and end up selling it for half a million, and hopefully this prevents others from making that same kind of mistake. If I missed anything, let me know.