Cold's Gold Blogging Carnival - Using Real Life Theories in WoW

"A part of all I earn is mine to keep." -Richest Man in Babylon (George S. Clason)



This post is written for Cold's Gold Blogging Carnival. Also support his and Wes’s (from Capped by Cata) podcast titled Auction House Junkies.

From the book The richest man in Babylon

Save 10% of all that you earn. I haven’t used this theory actively in gold making, but at times it has been useful to keep in mind when I’ve spent more gold on mats than I’ve been able to make in pure profit from sales in the same time period. If you have a problem getting above a certain amount of gold you can be sure to sort it out if you make sure you stop spending as much gold.

I recommend listening to Power Word: Gold where they mention useful addons like Accountant classic and Mysales and tell the listeners how they use them. The addons can give you a good idea of where all your good is going too, especially you’re the kind of player that spends a lot of gold on various things. 

Running the game like a business in real life.

At times I’ve been using this philosophy and it’s all about giving a good service, with good prices, good tips to crafters, being polite and being helpful. A lot of players think that WoW is a game and that makes being an asshole justified, while I’d argue that the game is an MMO played with other human beings with feelings behind every single character in-game. The main differences between doing business in-game and in real life is that in WoW you don’t meet the other person in the flesh and you don’t trade with real money. Other than that it’s pretty much the same psychology behind buying and selling things through the Auction House as well as through the trade channel.

I am not a goblin and I’m proud of it

I have never considered myself to be a goblin nor have I aspired to become one either.  I can use goblinish methods at times though. The way that I have interpreted goblins is that they don’t care about the customer at all, they don’t care about their feelings or anything else for that matter that affects the customer. What a goblin cares about is profit, time efficiency and finding ways to make more gold off those that know less or that are naive. If a goblin sees a good opportunity to make gold the goblin takes it regardless of how it affects the customer. Goblins do not care about ethics in any way.

Do unto others…

Even when I’ve had prices high I’ve strived to treat my customers with care. Grayz isn’t just another goblin or another gold maker that will try and squeeze out every copper you have. In certain markets I’m definitely the one that would charge the most while in other markets I’ll be the one undercutting most aggressively and selling items very cheap. I've been using a mental balancing scale because my conscience would react if I overpriced things for too long. That balance principle is what makes me Grayz when it comes to gold making.

I have enjoyed making gold a lot and I’ve had a  lot of fun doing it, but I won’t do it at any cost or at any price. I have my integrity, my honor, my principles and my way of doing things. If I find an idea on a blog or in a podcast that I like, but that has a few details that I dislike I just change those details so that they fit me. Adapting is key in gold making as well as being flexible.  Sure, I’ve crashed markets, consciously as well as subconsciously, but I don’t mind admitting it and if I’ve done things in a way that I thought was wrong in the past I reflect on it and aim to improve it the next time I’m in similar situation. It’s all an ongoing learning process.