Best practices for a banker alt
by Mike Schramm 
Apr 23rd 2007 at 2:17PM
Lately, I've really been pushing hard to get the 5k gold for my epic riding skill-- as I said on Friday, that Netherwing mount is calling my name. And so, on the advice of a rich guildie, I've finally made it a point to get a fulltime auction house alt. I chose one of my younger, less-played alts, stuck him between an Auction House and a mailbox (it happened to be in Thunder Bluff, but it could have been in any capital city), and made it a point to start scanning the AH every day, posting auctions when I start playing, and sending items to the alt when I'm done playing. That way, the next day when I log in with my bank alt, all those items are sitting in the mailbox, waiting for me to put them on AH-- right after I scan it again.That's what Amanna at Adventures in Azeroth does as well-- though she goes even farther and looks for deals on gear she has in mind to buy. It would be great to have that kind of know-how, and I'm sure it makes money, but I don't have time to know the approximate costs of every little thing-- I leave that to Auctioneer. (Auctioneer does come with a mod called Bottomscanner (used to be called Bottomfeeder) that is supposed to find deals on high-priced items for you, but I'm not sure that I can get it to work right-- I'm worried that I'll spend a bunch of money on an item I can't sell).
But if nothing else, I do have to agree that the formula works-- check the AH with your alt when you log on, and mail items back to that alt when you're done playing for the night. It's a basic thing to do (and anyone who's been interested in making money before has probably already started doing it). But making money seemed like such a chore before (I'd rather be killing stuff or grouping up then worrying about prices and checking the mail), but it's actually become fun for me to log in every day and check what's sold and how much gold I've earned.
Filed under: Items, Tips, Making money, Alts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
multikast Apr 23rd 2007 2:31PM
and for your bank alt (and even your mains), i highly recommend the following addons:
1) sanity2 - mainly for viewing items of all your chars, but more importantly for it's "compress" feature, which auto-stacks all unstacked items.
2) postal - used to be gmail
these two addons really help manage your bank alt.
Franchi Apr 23rd 2007 2:38PM
Yeah I started doing that before I reached even 50 on my main. Am I the richest guy on the server? By no means but neither do I lack for anything and more then likely will have all the money I need by the time I get to 70 or if not, shortly after that. And it is fun to go to the mailbox and clear out 50 to 100 gold in stuff you just sold. Also a tip to those starting this, stuff on the weekends will sell a lot better as lot more people on. So if it doesnt sell first couple tries, wait til weekend and try again. Ive had numerous blues sell that way....
Jeff Apr 23rd 2007 2:42PM
It's also best to always equip your Bank mule with a Tuxedo hehe :)
Sinnersaint Apr 23rd 2007 2:42PM
I love having a bank alt and waking up to some g's in the morning. The only downfall is that everyone else thinks you're their bank as well and I get a lot of whispers "can i have some g plz?"
Joshua Ochs Apr 23rd 2007 3:22PM
Based on the title and picture, I thought this was going to be about a guild banker auctioning off the guild's items. :)
Razhlok Apr 23rd 2007 2:54PM
Bank alts are the best. Make sure you have a mail mod like CT_Mail which make it easier to send multiple items to the same character and allows you to open multiple mail items with a few quick button clicks.
Auctioneer definitely makes it easier when posting multiple stacks of the same item (or splitting stacks into multiple auctions) and remembering what you listed the item as last time.
Pingmeister Apr 23rd 2007 2:58PM
I have been doing this rather inefficiently with one of my crafter alts.
I see some nice add-ons listed I'll have to try out.
aggregate Apr 23rd 2007 3:00PM
I find that I spend as much time on my bank alt as my main when not raiding. Looking for deals is an obsession.
Also, Festival Dress > Tux.
Tovort Apr 23rd 2007 3:01PM
I like to do cross-faction auctioning, there is a ridiculous difference between Horde and Alliance on my server. So actually I use 4 chars, 2 Alliance, 2 Horde.
Prauche Apr 23rd 2007 3:18PM
Shhhhh, It's a secret.
BoBoTheChimp Apr 23rd 2007 3:31PM
Why not just use your main to do it? I'm confused...whats the point in making another character just to do what your main can do instantly? That's what I do...
Maybe I'm missing the point
Sylythn Apr 23rd 2007 3:42PM
I've got to agree with 11...at the end of the day - I put in the bank what I need to save, craft what I can for skill ups, do a run around to the rep turn-ins, vendor junk, port to Azeroth and put the rest on the AH - all with my main. Then I log for the night, and the next morning (hopefully) stuff has sold and my hearth is ready to take me back to Shattrath. Why use a bank alt?
Rich Apr 23rd 2007 3:48PM
Bank alts are always at a major city and near a mailbox and an AH. That way, you don't have to hearth/fly back to a major city to dump everything off. Its really useful in the Outlands, just mail the stuff to the bank every time you see a mailbox.
My bank alt is my main cash mule. My main has about 200g on him at any one time. The bank alt is at 1500g. Whenever I create an alt on the same server, my bank alt is where the starter cash (and bags) come from.
I do have a secondary (kinda) bank alt. It's my DE alt, who I play once awhile. Anything the bank alt can't sell on the AH after 2 times, gets sent to the DE alt for D/E'ing. That alt will then sell the dusts/shards/etc and the gold goes back to the bank.
Zequel Apr 23rd 2007 3:51PM
Re #11
Yeah, you're missing the point.
Your main *has gear,quest items, potions,etc..
Your banker alt has an HS (maybe) and empty bags.
Your main moves from place to place.
Your banker alt is always at the AH/Bank/Mailbox.
BoBoTheChimp Apr 23rd 2007 3:54PM
Ahh Rich thanks for the insight. I haven't bought the BC yet and my hearth is in SW. I hearth there every night before I log so I don't need an alt to hang around there. Plus it just occurred to me it's extra bank space.
Bunkai Apr 23rd 2007 3:59PM
Yup, I'm in the boat with 11 and 12.
I did use a bank alt when I first started playing. So much that I and a few friends had our bank alts start a Bankers of Garona guild just for banker alts.
It was a huge waste of time to have to send items to that alt all the time, AND, you can't send BoP gear(so you still have to mildly think about vendoring that crap), and to get maximum benefit, your banker alt needs to be an enchanter that can DE higher level greens and blues that won't sell(mats ALWAYS sell). With the new DE rules in place, that would require that you actually level up your bank alt.
It's just easier to use my main. And actually, all my toons make their own money, that I generally do not share between them. If I want something on an alt... that alt gets the cash for it on his own. It teaches him the value of his purchases :-)
Prauche Apr 23rd 2007 4:03PM
If you play the AH as a serious investor (like the stock market) you need a bank alt. I've been auctioneering for over a year so I've been buying and selling for a while and usually have so many items coming and going that there is no way I could possibly keep all of my various gear sets, quest items, gathered items for my professions, in ADDITION to the items I am buying and selling on the AH with one toon.
Nails Apr 23rd 2007 4:06PM
hopefully not a lot of people will read this post and get curious. my level 1 alt is constantly running between the mailbox and Yarly in the Undercity, making me money. i started with 15g about a week and a half ago, and now i've got around 300. don't ask me how, b/c i wont tell you, and don't you dare do it on my server! :)
Freehugz Apr 23rd 2007 4:07PM
There's alot of reasons to have a bank alt
-You don't have to hearth back to an auction city every time you want to log out.
-More bagspace. If you fill up just find your nearest mailbox and make some room.
-Some items sell better on certain days. Have a high demand raiding pot/elixir? Wait till supplies on the AH are low and sell it for alot. Have an item that won't sell? Hang onto it until the weekend.
Faisca Apr 23rd 2007 5:51PM
@3. I do the same thing!!!