What To Do When The Auction House Competition Gets Nasty

By Author: Chris Coker
Total Articles: 18
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So there you are at the mailbox, grabbing the WoW gold you've raked in for the day, when you find a very angry letter from a competitor in your inbox, complaining about your prices and how stupid you are. You shouldn't be surprised, really - when you've become a fairly successful auctioneer, you're bound to get a lot of these letters, or worse.

The main reason that competitors send you hate letters is, of course, because your auctions have been more successful than theirs. There are many ways to have successful auctions, but the main one is undercutting the competition. Lower prices are always a good thing for buyers, and they will naturally want to ensure that they're spending their WoW gold on a good deal. This means that if there are two auctions of the same item up, they'll most likely go for the one with the lower buyout price, and leave the other one to expire. It goes without saying that the owner of the auction that was left to rot will probably end up becoming angry at you for enticing buyers away from him.

When you receive that first hate letter, you shouldn't let it get to you - after all, it just goes ...
... to show that you're doing a good job at being an auctioneer! Aside from that, this seemingly inane and childish tactic is actually a clever scheme in disguise. If this bitter auctioneer sends this kind of note to all his competitors, there's a possibility that he will successfully discourage at least one of them to the point that they stop auctioning completely, thereby reducing the number of active competition. That said, you should not let this kind of tactic discourage you from selling your wares. Nobody can tell you how to price your items and demand that you take your business elsewhere, especially if they happen to be your competitors.

Another way competitors attempt to demoralize other autioneers is by sending negative whispers, one-by-one or in bulk (also known as spamming). This can be avoided easily by adding the spammer to your Ignore list.

Some competitors take it a step further - instead of just sending whispers or mail, they start posting malicious messages about you in public chat channels like Trade chat. Again, don't worry about this. Only a handful of people actually pay attention to that kind of trash-talking in Trade chat, meaning it won't affect much of your Auction House market. That, and does anyone really pay attention to the name of the auctioneer when buying something from the Auction House? No! People just zero-in on the buyout price, completely ignoring the name of the toon selling it.

If the competitors keep hounding you with complaints, then it might be a good idea to just delete that bank alt of yours and create another one. This will give you some room to breathe... at least until you start beating your competitors at the Auction House and undergo the entire process again. This is why it's recommended that you keep your bank alts bling-free (meaning you don't spend so much time or effort on their wardrobe), to allow you to easily delete and replace them if the need arises.

Remember, the life of an auctioneer is about making WoW gold, and lots of it. You're bound to step on some toes and make some enemies, but in a competitive, capitalistic environment, you need to know how to stand your ground and keep your business going.

Chris Coker is a freelance writer and avid gamer. He has written on all aspects of the MMO industry, focusing on his latest favorite, Star Trek Online. Check out some of his posts where he dishes out everything from ship interiors to energy credits to good old-fashioned grinding.