There is a general split in the Gold Making community about stockpiling. For those of you who are new, Stockpiling is just what it sounds like. Very similar to the Cold War era of filling up your bomb shelter with various cans of Spam and other staple items so that you can survive nuclear fall out. O.K. So maybe it's not that extreme, but hopefully you get the point. The point of stockpiling is when you see a something cheap, and you know you can make money off it at some point in the future, you buy it and store it in hopes of the forth coming profit. Some Gold Makers take this to the very extreme. Filling bank tab after bank tab of raw goods and materials. Hedging their bets that it will pay dividends. However, other Gold Makers go a different route. Some choose to only buy what they need, when they need it. Ride the market prices like an ocean current and find profits in whatever that day throws at them. Neither one of these strategies are better than the other. The biggest difference is they require two very unique skill sets. This is one more point where your choices are going to shape the way you make Gold.
Me personally, I fall somewhere in the middle. I made a great stockpile during Wrath of the Lich King in hopes that Old World Mats would sky-rocket in value. They did to some extent, but most of that stockpile is a long term investment. On the other side, I don't have hordes of Cataclysm materials either. I obtain pretty much what I need, however any excess I do store up.
I along with a lot of other bloggers did tons of writing about stockpiling and speculation before the launch of Cataclysm. The great thing about your stockpile is that it is very much a large portion of how you can asses your wealth. I wrote about
Proper Asset Management awhile ago, and you can see there how your stockpile can play a big role. So in an effort to help new and aspiring Gold Makers, I wanted to write a post about putting together your first stockpile. This may be old-hat to some of you, but you might get a pointer here or there.
So now that we have answered the why, lets move forward to the how.
Getting Started:There are two basic concepts on how to get started building your stockpile. The first is farming and the second is starting small. Yes, I said farming. Farming is a word that can often get tossed around in a very negative sense. However, farming isn't always a negative. If you don't know where to start, but you have a toon with a gathering profession, spend some time farming! Go out, explore the World. Step outside of the the confines of the Auction House. Get in tune with your Characters. Play the game. Farming doesn't have to be doing a path of mobs over and over again to obtain one certain item. It can be daily quests, dungeon runs, and more. The best way to build a stockpile and not even realize it is by emptying your bags at the end of the day. Oh, you picked up a stack and a half of Embersilk? Awesome, don't throw it on the Auction House right away, send it to your banker. What's that, you got an Elementium Lock Box you can't open and were just going to vendor? No no, I say. Tip your local rogue and open that bad boy. Send your new found goodie to your banker. This coincides with starting small. If you take small baby steps and start sending items to your banker you'll be surprised what you may have amassed in as little as a week. Now that you've made a small change in what you do at the end of the day, let's start putting that stockpile to work.
Build Around Professions:In essence, this is why you stockpile. Or well, let me be more specific. This is why I stockpile. I stockpile to feed my professions or to level them. Here is how you can do it too. Let's say your daily routine is posting a few auctions, grinding out a few dailies, and then jumping in on some dungeon runs with your guildies. Outside of what your listing, let's take a look at how all of those things can be used to solidify your stockpile and build around your professions.
Dailies: If you're just starting with Gold Making, you're probably doing them because you're broke. They provide you with enough income to squeak by. But we're looking to change that, now aren't we? If you're already living on the income of your dailies, how is not putting that half a stack of Embersilk on the AH going to effect you? In a sense, it's not. So we killed some mobs and looted a couple things. We probably got a couple greens, some cloth, and because we probably have a gathering profession picked up a couple nodes of ore or herbs or maybe we skinned a couple things. The day has ended. Now we're going to send off our treasure to our banker. Let's go ahead and do that for a week.
Dungeons: The same thing applies here. Dungeons are great. Loot the freaking mobs! Vortex Pinnacle and Volatile Air anyone? I've collected as many as 10 of those in a run. You'd be surprised what you can do with that! Or
Did you Forget About Truegold? The point here is make the most of them. Loot the mobs, get your cloth, roll your greeds. (Or your DE's if you don't have Bountiful Bags. Thanks
Power Word: Gold!) When you're done, send it off to your banker. Again, do this for a week.
Now you've spent a week amassing everything you've picked up. You've sent it off to a bank alt. Hopefully you've bought a Guild Bank and a tab and are ready to start squirreling away your goods. Now what you'll notice is you have a mass of crap that needs to be constructed in a way that can be useful to you. So pick out your professions and start processing. I know you have an enchanter. You have an enchanter right? No really, you have to have an enchanter. Go ahead and start de'ing all of those fancy greens you've obtained through out the week. Stock up those mats. You'll need them. You'll need them not only for your own enchants, but to make scrolls.
Enchant Weapon - Mending comes to mind. It's a real money maker. Same thing applies with that Embersilk you've picked up. You might not think you're going to be a tailor, but if you want to be a serious professional in the world of Gold Making, you need to have all your bases covered. Let it pile up so when you finally pull the trigger on tailoring, you won't be so shell-shocked. Ore and Herbs? This is your decision. If you have a profession to which they can be valuable such as inscription, jewelcrafting, or blacksmithing go ahead and make them into things of use. If not, leave them in raw form and let them build up.
Do you see what's going on? We've changed a playing habit and opened up a new door to profit. Allowing things to build up over time will help you in the long run. It will prevent you from having to buy things when supplies take a dip, and it will allow you to be the supplier when demand has a spike. So now that you have a rough idea and you've started your nest egg of a stockpile, let's go ahead and grow it.
Growing your Stockpile:Let me preface this. This is going to cost Gold. Not a lot of Gold if you're a sane person. However, if you're particularly acute in your stockpiling habits, you could dump a ton of Gold in this just because you can. But let's keep it tame for now. One of the greatest ways to build on to your stockpile is by buying out under priced items when the markets are flooded. If you can tell that an item is listed for a price that is well below market value, even if you aren't sure what you can do with it, go ahead and pick it up if you have the available capital. The balancing act here is just that. Balance. Don't ever let yourself become liquid starved. If you dump every copper into your stockpile you may hold some great profit opportunities, but you'll also miss out on new ones.
Continue being smart on this level as well. The Golden rule of stockpiling is once again building around your professions. Find items that you can use and fit your skill set. While a billion Obsidium Bolts may be listed for a great deal, if you're not sure what to do with them and you're not an engineer, you probably shouldn't invest very heavily in them. However, if you see blue quality Cata gems listed at or below vendor cost and you're a jewelcrafter, you should probably go ahead and pick those up. Even if you already have a ton of them. Build around your professions. I cannot say that enough.
I hope you now have an understanding of what goes into building a stockpile and how it will be beneficial for you. If you're just starting out, play the game. You'll find items that can make you Gold. Use them to your benefit. Start to compartmentalize your goods. It makes things easier to break down and process. Then tie your stockpile to your professions and watch it grow.
In closing, a quality stockpile is
not built over night. It takes time and patience. One bear trap not to fall into is letting your "stockpile" be a junk pile. Make sure you're keeping it trimmed and relevant to your professions and characters. Use it as a pipeline and you will find success.
As always, feel free to leave me a comment if you enjoyed the post or contact me at CappedByCata@Gmail.com or on Twitter @CappedByCata
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Wes
