At Last, A Legit Promotion Email from Blizzard

Well, I just got verification that this is true, and it's not a hacker/scammer paradise email. I was a bit worried when I received this, as there has been quite a few "legit" looking emails floating around, but if yours looks like this, it's all good, baby, yeah! (what is with all the Austin Powers lately? I haven't seen that movie in like 5 years....I dunno....).

But do yourself (or a buddy) a favor and check in that inbox. I didn't get the exact times, in other words how long your account has to be active, but it's worth a check.  I am wondering if it isn't only for us vanilla starters....Anyways, chickity-check it! It's a great way to get some cross faction trades or RaF (asking on that one right now..will answer 100% when I know 100%..).

*Edit: Cold from Cold's Gold found the blue post here: Free Account for WoW Veterans? Thanks bruddah!

*Edit: After reading some blue posts, it seems that quite a few folks are pissed off that they didn't receive it (playing since vanilla) since the "box" wasn't checked for "Receive future special offers" (settings<communication settings). Pfft. Didn't know I had it checked, but you might want to check your settings on battle.net.....

Now all we need is to get our friggin pets for logging in on WoW Anniversaries...a man can wish, can't he?!

Did you Know? Blizzard and Online Tickets

Not sure how many folks actually use this function, as it is fairly "new". Ever open a ticket in game and never get a response, or a generic one at that? I know I have. Reporting online is just as easy as in game, and I am gonna toss you some information on how to do it.

Now I know you are thinking, "This isn't a gold tip Alto", okay, okay. It is and it isn't. I wrote a post on the new changes to the Shuffle, and my 6/36 rule, but there were four other bloggers that hit on the new floor with the vendor changes seen in the PTR.... before I brought the post to life. If you aren't first, you are last....Anyways!




First, you will need to be logged into Battle.net. I normally have a tab open at all times on my 'puter, as it's basically a "remote AH" through there (more on that if you are interested...once again, just holler). Go to TicketHistory and you will see a screen like the pic above. If you don't see it, you aren't logged in....so log in already!

Next, you will see an "Ask A Question" page. In Step 1, you can select what your issue is: Can't log in, something is wrong, issues with account or billing, or reporting your favorite bot/trade spammer/gold seller.

Once you choose a selection, you will then be prompted to add your realm and toon (character) along with a description of what your current issue is.

Please do your best to explain all the goods....I have noticed that the better off you are explaining, the better chance you have to get a "real" response instead of the cut and paste generics that we are used to.





Look below the Description box at the bottom of the page:

The best part about using this "ticket" system is the ability to add a file (i.e Screenshot, Image from a website- Undermine for bots-, or a txt if you really feel like writing a page question).

I hope this helps you in killing off your botters, answering your questions, and/or basically making your day easier when you have an issue in-game.

Like I mentioned above, holler out if you are interested in a post on my 6/36 rule or you can always comment if there is something you are questioning in game and I will do my best to answer explaining the process.

Remember folks, the weekend is upon us, so travel back in time to Feb when I posted this Clearance Sale post explaining a few tips I use to get prepared for upcoming sales. Have a gold filled weekend folks!

Dealing With Farmers through the Auction House

Hey folks!

I received a reader email yesterday asking a question that is in all our heads, and after starting to answer him, I decided to make a post due to this being an issue I hear quite a bit.....

Hi Alto,


So I have been reading through a couple of blog posts from your site and others. I haven't been able to find the topic that I have been looking for. I understand that it's much easier to have people farm mats for you while you pay a certain price. I'm just not sure how to approach them in making the offer to send their mats to me for a good price. Speaking about buying it for a good price how much would be a reasonable offer....maybe 20g off the AH price?


Thanks,
Alex

Alex,

We all have this thought, and most (it seems) do not act on it. We bite the bullet, buy our mats from the AH, and go on with our day. I fall into that category at times, normally assuming (and you know what they say about assuming...) that they A) don't speak english B) won't respond or C) don't care to deal with people (that's why it's on the AH in the first place, and not in trade).

Serious "Sweatshop" WoW Gold Farming

Let's look at an example: Obsidium Ore. We know since patch 4.1.0 that the "floor" price is 30g, but if you use my 6/36 method, you know from some quick math that they are worth 52g on your server (if you aren't aware of my "rule", you can read the comments on 4.1.0: Whatcha need to know). On the AH, they are 40g and there is one farmer that has 102 stacks at that price. Straight away, we know that at a 12g profit per stack (at current prices) we can make a quick 1200g, right? Easy money, just takes some time to profit.

So now I ask the question back to you, is 1200g worth it to you for your time to "shuffle" them? Let's just say for instance that it is. Do you buy em all up anyways? Think about this.....say you do talk to the farmer. Is 35g per stack a fair offer? You spend 10 minutes arguing with him (due to he posted 150 stacks, and 48 had already sold at the 40g) and you lowball an offer of 30g to buy em all right now (he stands to lose 1000g by selling them to you now, and you stand to gain 1000g). He gets offended, and basically tells you to F off. Sound familiar? Probably.

What I would do is offer him to save time. You know that the Obsidium Ore usually has sold for 42g per stack since the patch dropped last week, right? So the current 40g is a good price. I would send him/her an in game mail stating:

Dear XXXXX,


I purchased all your stacks (102) of Obsidium Ore at 40g in the AH. I would like to have a constant supply, feel free to save the AH fees and COD me as many as you can get (no more than 200 stacks a day) for 38g per stack and you won't have to deal with posting them. Deal? Lemme know!


Thanks again!


Obviously, if you see the person in game, you can do basically the same in chat. Why did I not offer less? I want to establish a relationship with them. I don't want to gouge them, as I am still profiting.

Ignore is a powerful function in WoW (see a post by Khailor about ingnoring) and to lose a prospective farmer would be bad. After a few days of getting the 200 stacks, if you are greedy, you can let them know that you have a supplier for 35g per, if you want to risk losing them. It's a risk, and....well.....is it really worth losing a constant supply to gain a few hundred gold? In my eyes, no. But you might see it differently.

Are you feeling where I am going with this? It's all about where you want your profit margin to be. If you are profitable vs. time, then don't hesitate to snatch em up at the 40g (and still send the mail). If they are 50g in the AH, is it worth only 200g profit for your time? I would think not, that is when you would push the envelope and ask for 40g (for at least a 1K profit on your side).

Overall, I hope that gives you a bit of insight on my thought process, you can either use it or lose it. There are quite a few variables when getting new farmers, so take my advice with a grain of salt. 72% of the time it works 51% of the time (or something like that...who knows really). Remember too that if you don't buy them, someone else will, and like that famous guy in that famous movie said "If you aren't first, you are last". Words to live by in the AH....

I have an oldie but a goodie post on Finding Farmers on your Server if you want to read a bit more.....

I am hoping that some of my readers might have seen similar issues, if so, holler out what you did or do in this style situation (and no xander, not your idol "The Situation").

Fifteen.....Alto's Lucky Number

Hey folks! Having a great start to the weekend? Well, for some, it's about to get better!

As most of you know, my gold guide has been out for two weeks now. Today marks the fifteenth day of it's availability, and it has already been updated with the latest and greatest for 4.1.0. Not even live for two weeks and already an update? You bet!



This isn't just a one time purchase for my guide. Once patch 4.1 went live, I updated with all the latest and greatest gold making tips for my "inner circle", information that has not been published on my site.

Now in it's fifteenth day, and since fifteen is my lucky number, I am dropping the price to $15 bucks for 15 hours, then we will be holding constant at the original $25 price tag. So if you have hesitated on purchasing, do so now!



In case you were wondering where to purchase this guide, you can use one of the "BUY NOW" tabs with the Visa/Mastercard logo.

It will direct you to my ebook page, sponsored by EJunkie (funny name, great company) and secure payment through paypal's 100% safe "sister" site.

For my new readers that don't know much about me, I have hit the gold cap back in Jan/Feb of this year, and was recently interviewed on WarcraftEcon for hitting a million gold. What other gold guide out there actually has proof they know the game and not just cutting and pasting what they find on the interwebs? What other guide seller has proof they can walk the walk and not just talk the talk?None. Take a look at some of my old posts, they tell the tale....

If you are familiar with Markco and his 20K Leveling Gold Guide, he recently posted giving props to my guide (see his article here) "Afterwards, and if you haven't done so yet, you should take a look at Alto's blog as well as his gold making mini-guide which is actually an excellent complimentary guide to 20k Leveling." 

For another "gold guide" owner to say something of that magnitude, and to say buy someone else's guide, well, it's says how great my guide is. And the information isn't even touched on any guide that is currently available. You can only get it here!

The information I give in my guide is all about the AH. How to's, how to's, how to's. What you need to do, what to look for, what addons to use, how to read information on your competitors, you name it, I cover it. I teach you how to read your AH. I don't have my guide filled with junk about farming, what items are moving quickly on the AH, thats for my blog (however, the update hits on 4.1, so that's a bit off kilter, but you get my point).

The great thing about my guide? You have me personally to answer any specific question you have or issue you are running into. Hop on Skype, tell me your order ## from your purchase, and BAM! Gold Guru at your fingertips! No waiting and hoping for a post on what you need, you can ask me direct! Nice, huh? I thought ya'll would like it!

Enough with the Bla, bla, bla, buy my guide, bla, bla, bla. I always hate when a blogger goes on and on about buying something, but in this case, love it or leave it. I am offering a great deal on a great product, and if you aren't game, cool. If you are, holler!