Who moved the cheese? - revision 3

(If you feel like you are missing 1/2 the conversation, you need to also read Coffee, Smokes & AH fees)

Back in the dying days of Wrath, there were a dozen glyph sellers all selling all the glyphs, and maybe a dozen glyph buyers.  There was even the occasional buyer who didn't also sell glyphs.  Herbs and ink were cheap, and glyphs only needed one ink to craft.  Prices were cheap.

I was busy playing deep undercutter.  Some tried playing monopolist and purchased my glyphs for relisting, so I simply sold more.  I built up a 40 of each glyph stockpile with an eye for 3 glyph inks needing the (not yet available) cata inks.  I also stockpiled inks and herbs.  Several of us suspected that some glyph sellers were gold sellers.  I started selling glyphs at miniscule profits, with a stated goal of keeping the number of glyph players to a minimum.

In an already crowded market, along came a new player, with a deep wall of glyphs with a 1c undercut.  Cata hit, and prices rose.  Between prices largely set by me, combined with the wall created by the new player, and Breevok plugging the holes, we had a nice market.  The 3 of us were dominant, with over 85% of the listed glyphs belonging to the three of us. Any co-operation was merely accidental.  We were all in competition, carving out our individual niches.  My concerns were about additional players entering the market, rather than the other two known accounts.

Things had been quiet for about a fortnight with no unusual changes.  I was making gold easily, though perhaps down a little on the peak a fortnight before.  I had two toons selling well, and a third toon full of glyphs that were not selling.

Breevok stirred the pot(*).  He does that now and then.  (I can be goaded into action, and ... well this time he has explicitly issued a call to arms).

I re-worked my auctions.  My best selling glyphs I priced up in la-la land(*).  My medium glyphs I left largely alone.  I started dumping my worst glyphs, agressive pricing, but one at a time on the AH.  Many of these glyphs hit 5g each, and started selling.  My best selling glyphs were starting to sell at obscene prices, and my cheapest glyphs were moving too.  Who should be buying the cheap glyphs?  Mostly it was Moonvengence.

I offered Moonvengence my surplus stock COD, he accepted (well many of them anyway).  He and I had an in game mail exchange, and a whisper conversation declaring a cease fire(*).  Intentional or not, he then immediatly undercut all my auctions that I had just posted.

Now we have all these interlopers entering my market.  It's mine I tell you - all mine (did you hear that I am prone to delusions?).  Breevok is right, between Moonvengence and myself we are capable of driving out all but the most tenacious of competitors.  He was also right in saying that it was hard work.  (I would like that hot cocoa now please).  Regular readers - don't worry;  Competitors, do what you will; I am not going anywhere. 


(Missteps that opened the door for other glyph sellers are marked with * above.  The revision 3 part of the title comes because I have been on a roller coaster ride this week with sales (subject for another post)).


I am currently have a 'neutral' price outlook.  I will watch, and wait.  Have a look at what they are selling, and how quickly I am undercut.  If I make too few sales, I increase the number of postings and undercut, decrease fallback and theshold; too many sales, and I do the opposite.  With luck I may be able to maintain my different pricing strategies according to sales, but may have to look at a pricing per cost basis.  I suspect that Moonvengence may decide to re-enter a price war (hopefully generally rather than specifically targeted).  Breevok will most likely continue his morning postings, covering markets that were sold out overnight.  I suspect I will be more aggressive soon..



With additional sellers there will be additional demand on herbs, as these players build their stockpiles.  Darkmoon fair is not very far away, and some (other) sellers made a bundle on cards last time around.  Based on that bundle, more players will be making cards, placing additional demand on herbs and volatile life.  Best of luck (and profit) to the herbalists.