Ask WoW Insider: Are BoE drops still worth selling on the AH?
by Barb Dybwad 
Apr 6th 2007 at 3:20PM
It's time once again for our weekly edition of Ask WoW Insider. Last week we asked you about WoW client performance on a Mac, and this week reader MrRaist wonders about the usefulness of listing BoE drops on the auction house after the expansion: My question to you is: Are BOE drops still worth it? It seems that anything that drops for me, green or blue, never seems to sell anymore on the AH. Most quests give better rewards than BOE drops, and I end up vendoring the drops for instant cash, rather than paying the AH fees. Even a decent BOE blue drop was vendored after 7 or 8 shots at the AH, lowering the price every time. Consumables still sell really well, but not weapons and such. What is WOW Insider's thoughts?What's been your experience with selling your BoE drops since the expansion -- harder? easier? Do you have any tips for selling items -- set at lower buyouts? advertise in trade channel instead of putting on the AH? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and send us your questions for next week to ask AT wowinsider DOT com.
Filed under: Economy, The Burning Crusade, Ask WoW Insider, Making money
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Pawsoner Mar 31st 2008 4:43PM
blues are a thing of the past...
Pawsoner Mar 31st 2008 4:45PM
dust em...mats always sell and cost nothing to put on
Pawsoner Mar 31st 2008 4:45PM
ive also found alot of the 65-70 greens cost more to put on the ah than they will actually sell for...dust em
JaneLame Apr 16th 2009 3:16AM
I stopped selling my BoE greens and blues when WLK was introduced. When epics are given everywhere, people don't really invest in such gear.
I find that it's safer to sell a green dagger to a vendor for 10 gold than auctioning it for 15-20g, then getting it back in the mail 2 days later (after paying a 2g auctioning fee).
Aray May 5th 2009 6:17PM
Well, MOST things I put on the AH as far as weapons or armor DONT sell at lvl 70-80 because its so easy to get geared running instances or questing. Before lvl 70 things sell for me a lot. My server consists mostly of lvl capped people, it is very hard to run the lower lvl instances at, say, lvl 30. My alts buy gear all the time because the quest rewards just dont do it. And there arent enough groups going around to get BoP blues from bosses. My alts have only run the full set of SM because of 80 friends running me and me running them, specifically for 'gear runs or quest runs'
I do tailoring, maxed out. Bags, cloth, and enchanting items sell really well. Stones and gems, leathers too.
Wartoad Apr 6th 2007 3:27PM
Leveling up 60-70 I bought plenty of BoE gear on the AH, likewise I sond quite a bit too. Sure, some doesn't sell, but that was the same case of BoE gear 1-60. The AH is still my first stop when back in the Big City, to sell and buy BoEs.
takemyadvice24 Mar 31st 2008 4:39PM
Dust em..not worth the headache and mats always sell and are free to put on
brian Apr 6th 2007 3:29PM
it really could just depend on your server, i know on shadowmoon blues sell for a shyt load, as our battlegroup vindication is very twink heavy
Donkeykicka Apr 6th 2007 3:32PM
I've given up trying to sell any weapons or armor on the AH. Even priced a few gold over vendor value, I've had of the Bandit items come back. Thankfully I have an alt that can DE everything, so they get sent to them. Enchanting mats still sell like mad and if I ever need any enchants, I've got the mats on hand. You are right though, pots, ores, bars and herbs still sell well.
My biggest issue is that raw herbs always go for way more than the potions/elixirs. And I never post a transmuted Might. On Staghelm the Mights are sometimes lower than the individual components summed value! Figure that one out.
Julemand Apr 6th 2007 3:42PM
when i get a boe green i usaly say if its below 3g vendor prise i disenchant it and above i just sell to vendor rather than putting gold in blizzards pocket for AH fees that usaly never sells for me :)
MadCow Apr 6th 2007 3:48PM
BoEs don't sell much on my server. Blue or green, doesn't matter. I've managed to knock off a few rare elites and every drop I've gotten has been DE'd or vendored.
A big snag I fould with listing some BoEs is that the cost for listing them for 24hrs often equals or exceeds the vendor value ... wtf?? So I've stopped listing and just vendor/disenchant. I'll usually ask in guild if anyone needs anything and to this day, since launch, I've only managed to GIVE AWAY one ring ... +56 atk power and another druid in my guild went crazy eyes on it ... rogues didn't even bat an eye.
nubular Apr 6th 2007 3:50PM
I tried to sell BoE greens when I first hit Outland, it seemed like every other mob was dropping one. But they never sold and I was losing money with the ridiculous AH fee (up to 5g for some items, wtf?!) so I now I don't even bother, I just send them to an alt that DE's it. Enchanting mats always sell and best of all, no AH fees.
Psyclerk Apr 6th 2007 3:56PM
On my server, greens move pretty slowly. I've purchased a few myself, but a lot of the ones I've picked up rot in the AH. I've had an upper level mail helm of the Invoker (shaman gear), ring of the Bandit, a wand of the Invoker and other decent items that no one wants. Part of the problem is that some of these items are worth so much at the vendor that the deposit can creep pretty high. As such, if I have to relist an item three or four times (and I can only price items a small percentage over vendor in order to even get someone to look at them), I make less money than I would have if I had vendored or disenchanted it.
Blue items are even worse. I managed to pick up a blue polearm when I went back to finish a quest chain in EP. I ended up losing five or six gold before I finally decided to break it for a shard.
Right now, about 70% of my BoEs go to my enchanter, and another 25% go straight to the vendor (weapons especially). The BoE market is definitely a buyer's market for the moment, at least on my server.
johnnyamerika Apr 7th 2007 11:23AM
BOE drops are largely worth crap now on Darkspear Horde. The best I could get for a Band of Domination was 40g. It seems like the best selling items are just raw mats and LW and tailoring enchants.
Todd Apr 6th 2007 4:01PM
My main is a mage with enchanting. I typically DE all greens that drop, unless said green can be vendored for 6 gold or more. As for blues which drop, it's about 50/50. If the blue is from a rare spawn, generally this will sell pretty well. If the blue is a world drop, chances are I'll DE the blue as it won't sell much.
Tony V Apr 6th 2007 4:17PM
1) BOE blues: I agree they don’t sell well on the AH (particularly considering the deposits), and most people overestimate their value. So I just post in trade “WTS [Item] 50g” or so. Some farmer thinks the item is well worth more than that, they pay me 50g happily, and then 10 seconds later I see “WTS [Item] 200g”. I wonder if they ever actually succeed.
2) BOE greens: dust, unless they min-max some stat that some class really likes (shadow wrath for warlocks, leather armor for druids, etc).
3) The people who say transmute Primal Mights isn’t worth it. I’ve found sometimes particular primal prices are out of wack, because some blacksmith just bought 10 primal fires or something, and the prices on fire become temporarily jacked up. In the long run, there is a pretty reasonable floor on all primals, and just don’t buy them when they are significantly above that floor. I can always post Might up 10g more than the sum of those reasonably priced primals.
Robert Apr 6th 2007 4:30PM
Typically you will always make more money by asking a friendly enchanter to disenchant it for you, and selling the dust/essences on the AH. This holds true from 1-70, with some exceptions: for certain classes, at certain levels, there's just no good gear easily available from quests, instances, or professions, and a high quality green will be in demand. However, knowing these exceptions takes an encyclopedic knowledge of the game, so if in doubt, disenchant!
(If you have an add-on like Enchnatrix/Auctioneer or WoWEcon it's very easy to see that the average AH price for disenchanting is generally 2-3g over the average AH price for the item, and usually 2-3x the average vendor price.)
Dragontamer Apr 6th 2007 4:37PM
Here are my guildlines:
1) Only auction off the stuff that is really valuable. For example "of the Beast" and "of the Bandit" leather are valuable. "Of Spirit" and "of the Gorilla" are not.
2) Look at what the fees are. Weapons, shields, and chestpieces are very expensive to auction and sell to the vendors for a lot. Therefore, they are often not worth the risk. Bracers are just the opposite and therefore often are.
3) Blue weapons are often hard to auction off. Blue armor is not unless it has stupid stats (see rule #1 above).
multikast Apr 6th 2007 4:49PM
I auction blues and send greens to our guild enchanter. Greens just do not sell. I think i've sold all blues i've ever put up.
Jake Apr 6th 2007 5:20PM
I just sold a green 2h axe for 25g and a blue leather helm for 33g and a green 1h axe for 15g on my AH the only BoE item that i have put on the AH that hasnt sold well is a green wand with not very good stats. I guess my server love to buy anything that is better than what they have instead of waiting for a better reward item. I call them Impulse shoppers :)