Riotbreaker
19-08-2004, 20:54
I miss playing WoW. I got a taste of it for five days from a friend, but he changed the pw. (Much to my dismay).
End of Intro.
Do you hate asking yourself if you should've made that deal? Do you want to be a more successful trader? Well then, listen to someone with years of successful trading on Battle.net, where traders, much like the real people, range from slow to sublime.
Rule Number One:
To err is human.
In a nutshell, learn from your mistakes. This isn't a hedge fund you're managing, nor are a family or orphans depending on your success to put food on the table. I can remember a bunch of times where I think I made the wrong decision in pulling the trigger to trade. After thinking it through later (usually at weird times, like in the shower), or sifting through the trade channels, you can usually assess whether you made a mistake or not.
Rule Number Two:
Flexibility only goes so far.
Let's make a deal are the four words I associate most with hate and love in the trading world. I absolutely abhor being approached on that principle, because more often than not someone will attempt to sweeten a lowball offer to try and get me to take it. And vice versa. I tend to think of trading as an adversarial experience. When "wheelin' & dealin', it's a good thing to be flexible in many ways. (Do you have a good diversity of stock to trade? Are you willing to do package deals? Can you wait a few minutes? Do you give prompt (courtesy optional) responses? Yet, bending over should not mean bending over backwards. Just as your should ALWAYS gauge how badly someone wants a particular item, never, ever, attempt to show how badly you might want something. I remember for example that I REALLY wanted something badly once, and this guy kept asking if I had this or that, and I just said yes, yes, yes, yes. So I ended up vastly overpaying. In the Hardcore scene, overpaying is SILLY. Keeping an uber item on a character is...uber, but you will not be able to trade for anything else anytime soon. Further, if that character dies or becomes corrupted permanently....Need I say more?
Rule Number Three
Evaluation is FUN.
As a general rule of thumb, I think of all items having two mainvalues.
These are: Rarity, and usefulness. Further subordinate values to the Big Two here as follows.
Rarity: Is the item's properties rare? (Skill charms with good second modifications, perfect variable uniques, such as an Ormus's Robe with +3 Blizzard and 15% Cold Magic Damage) Is the item ACTUALLY rare? (Tyrael's Might, Arachnid Mesh, and Azurewrath are examples of the three highest and hardest to find items in the game. *HOWEVER*, both Arach and Azure are Meph-able)
Usefulness: In general, how useful is the item to popular builds and archetypes? (Stormshield and Harlequin Crest are prime examples. The shako is the best helm for magic finders and most builds alike, as is SS valuable to sorceresses, javazons, all 1-handed barbarians, trapsins...need I go on?)
Is this item useful for popular runewords? (REmember Lum! In Europe, Lum used to be one of the most sought-after runes for it's valuable properties in Lionheart and Smoke. Today, Vex is sought after for it's usage in Heart of the Oak and Breath of the Dying, two of the best weapons in the game for casters and warriors, respectively.)
Quick Tips to Remember when trading:
How desperate is the other? How much can I get w/o offending him/her so I can possible trade with them again in the future?
Does another person need this item and are willing to pay well?
Am I being silly holding onto this item?
Will I ever use this item?
Am I being duped by being offered pretty uniques?
For common items, refer to the trading channels. For rarer ones, refer to trading forums, as your message will not seem like one blown off into the wind.
Did I see other people offering this same item?
Have fun trading everyone, and get rich like me ^^
-Riot
End of Intro.
Do you hate asking yourself if you should've made that deal? Do you want to be a more successful trader? Well then, listen to someone with years of successful trading on Battle.net, where traders, much like the real people, range from slow to sublime.
Rule Number One:
To err is human.
In a nutshell, learn from your mistakes. This isn't a hedge fund you're managing, nor are a family or orphans depending on your success to put food on the table. I can remember a bunch of times where I think I made the wrong decision in pulling the trigger to trade. After thinking it through later (usually at weird times, like in the shower), or sifting through the trade channels, you can usually assess whether you made a mistake or not.
Rule Number Two:
Flexibility only goes so far.
Let's make a deal are the four words I associate most with hate and love in the trading world. I absolutely abhor being approached on that principle, because more often than not someone will attempt to sweeten a lowball offer to try and get me to take it. And vice versa. I tend to think of trading as an adversarial experience. When "wheelin' & dealin', it's a good thing to be flexible in many ways. (Do you have a good diversity of stock to trade? Are you willing to do package deals? Can you wait a few minutes? Do you give prompt (courtesy optional) responses? Yet, bending over should not mean bending over backwards. Just as your should ALWAYS gauge how badly someone wants a particular item, never, ever, attempt to show how badly you might want something. I remember for example that I REALLY wanted something badly once, and this guy kept asking if I had this or that, and I just said yes, yes, yes, yes. So I ended up vastly overpaying. In the Hardcore scene, overpaying is SILLY. Keeping an uber item on a character is...uber, but you will not be able to trade for anything else anytime soon. Further, if that character dies or becomes corrupted permanently....Need I say more?
Rule Number Three
Evaluation is FUN.
As a general rule of thumb, I think of all items having two mainvalues.
These are: Rarity, and usefulness. Further subordinate values to the Big Two here as follows.
Rarity: Is the item's properties rare? (Skill charms with good second modifications, perfect variable uniques, such as an Ormus's Robe with +3 Blizzard and 15% Cold Magic Damage) Is the item ACTUALLY rare? (Tyrael's Might, Arachnid Mesh, and Azurewrath are examples of the three highest and hardest to find items in the game. *HOWEVER*, both Arach and Azure are Meph-able)
Usefulness: In general, how useful is the item to popular builds and archetypes? (Stormshield and Harlequin Crest are prime examples. The shako is the best helm for magic finders and most builds alike, as is SS valuable to sorceresses, javazons, all 1-handed barbarians, trapsins...need I go on?)
Is this item useful for popular runewords? (REmember Lum! In Europe, Lum used to be one of the most sought-after runes for it's valuable properties in Lionheart and Smoke. Today, Vex is sought after for it's usage in Heart of the Oak and Breath of the Dying, two of the best weapons in the game for casters and warriors, respectively.)
Quick Tips to Remember when trading:
How desperate is the other? How much can I get w/o offending him/her so I can possible trade with them again in the future?
Does another person need this item and are willing to pay well?
Am I being silly holding onto this item?
Will I ever use this item?
Am I being duped by being offered pretty uniques?
For common items, refer to the trading channels. For rarer ones, refer to trading forums, as your message will not seem like one blown off into the wind.
Did I see other people offering this same item?
Have fun trading everyone, and get rich like me ^^
-Riot