Breakfast Topic: Time or money?
by Zach Yonzon 
Apr 19th 2008 at 8:00AM
I recently posted about how I dropped Mining in order to take up Enchanting to better contribute to my PvP efforts. As of this writing, I've got my Enchanting at an unexciting 245 (update: now at 350). All our banked low-level mats have been used up and I'm hitting a barrier with lacking more than a few Nether Essences. I do have the option of buying them from the Auction House, which will certainly help me skill up faster, but it will also end up breaking my already quite broke(n) back. On the other hand, my wife leveled her Enchanting rather patiently, refusing to rewrite enchantments on gear except for the most inexpensive ones. She would diligently inspect people and their gear in major cities and offer free enchantments. Over time, she acquired enough raw materials and enchanted enough people to hit 375 -- all without spending a single Copper coin.I'm not quite as patient. Actually, I'm impatient as heck. My wife refuses to Buyout anything from the Auction Houses, instead waiting patiently for Auctions to end, getting things for the lowest possible price. The only time she uses Buyout is when it's an incredibly good deal (thanks to Auctioneer). I, on the other hand, Buyout pretty much everything, more interested in getting the item/s right away than saving Gold. I guess that's why I don't have much and my wife, well, has more than quite a bit. So, here's my question. Are you the kind of player who would rather save your time or your money? Are you patient enough to wait for auctions to end, or the kind who clicks the Buy Now option on eBay? Would you rather farm your raw materials or buy them off the Auction House -- Buyout style?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Making money
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Muffiny Apr 19th 2008 8:18AM
In game, I'd save time.
On EBay I'd save money.
:P
Brandon Apr 19th 2008 9:55AM
Oh yes- I am extremely impatient in game-I buyout all the time-I really just want instant gratification for any enchant I want or even leveling my Blacksmithing(which is at 370 btw)-so yes I would probably save money if I did bid instead of buying out, but-this is a game and what I want now should be available to me(unlike in real life).
There's my 2 cents...
xenothaulus Apr 19th 2008 8:49AM
I've got mining/enchanting on my main, and with that plus all the new dailies plus playing the AH (thanks Auctioneer!) I don't have any money problems and so I just buyout whatever I need. My primary example I guess would be if I'm going raiding, I buy the potions and flask I need, rather than gather the mats with my herbalist. The time it takes to do it just isn't worth it to me, when I can do dailies for 30 minutes or an hour and make back twice what I spent on supplies and repairs the night before. Time truly is money in WoW.
BartmanDK Apr 19th 2008 8:48AM
Well atm im lvling up leatherworking and im at 285 now, and i think i have bought about 75% of the mats.. From 300-375 i think im going to be buying most of the mats since i dont really want to farm primals 24-7 :D
S?hrtogg Apr 19th 2008 8:52AM
It really depends on what you are buying.
If a new piece of gear drops, I can't wait to get it enchanted and I will almost pay any price for those large prismatic shards. I usually try to get them in advance though when the prices are good.
If it's trade goods, to make profit or level a profession for instance, I am very picky with the prices. Every piece of gold spent more than necessary is one too many.
I find bidding in stead of buy-out useless in most cases. The lowest bid price is usually the auction with the lowest buy-out price too. If you click bid, then someone else will click buy-out. Gz, you got your gold back. Altough if I find an auction with a high buy-out but low bid and I don't mind waiting (eg. trade goods) then I'll just give it a try. After all, you don't have to sit and wait at the AH for 48 hours.
John Apr 19th 2008 9:08AM
Ebay, I'd save money, in game I just buyout, unless the bid is really low compared to the buyout. But, if you're having trouble gathering mats, find a tailor and farm cloth (from an instance, and then get some greens to melt down too), find the tailoring recipes that d/e into the mats you need and farm lots and lots (and lots) of cloth and greens and you'll get all the mats you need.
Upas Apr 19th 2008 9:31AM
Ebay = save money
AH = buyout.
But I rarely find myself using the AH. Maybe for that last primal might i need for my spellstrike leggings, but I'll buy them from people selling in town or farm mats myself most of the time.
Alchemistmerlin Apr 19th 2008 9:39AM
Since, in WoW, game time actually equals real life money, I'd rather save real time and real money by wasting fake money.
Tolyre Apr 19th 2008 10:16AM
There is always a time vs money element to everything you do in this game. I have guildmates that will go farm something like say primal life, when farming primal air would net them the same number of primals per hour, and they could sell the air, and buy the life at a 2-or-3 to 1 ratio. They'll do it with what ever particular mat they need, whether it makes sense or not. For me it is a matter of knowing what creates the most cash the fastest, farming for that selling it and then buying whatever I want. So far as buying stuff goes, I try to be patient, but wanting that enchant on whatever new piece I have for my next raid usually wins over frugality.
Speedmonkay Apr 19th 2008 10:27AM
It really depnds on how its going in the game. If I am having a laid back day, I will farm my supplies or bid and wait for the item I cant farm. But normally it is grind grind grind with little time to waste - so if I want it, I want it now !
Your wife sounds like she plays WoW the way my mom would (which would never happen. Ever). But I bet my mom would actually petition Blizz to start making in game coupons to use in the AH or shops.
Jason Apr 19th 2008 10:41AM
Depends on the item.
I'm a fire mage. For my belt of blasting I had made, the primal fires were purchased. Same thing for my Sunfire enchant. But I set a limit - I won't pay more than XX gold for an item. I just buyout when I see it though.
For big ticket items though, I'll wait. I never got the Polymorph: Turtle book, and it started popping up on our AH for about 3000 gold lately. Yeouch. I kept waiting, watching it show up until it popped up for 1700g. Buyout!
There's another one sitting out there for 3500 right now.
Overall though, farming bores me to tears. Daily quests are actually kind of entertaining, so that's how I "farm". I find out how much I need for an enchant/whatever and then I just go do dailies and buy it. I have over 5k gold banked from selling stuff/questing so I just buy things. I hate farming.
Tenchan Apr 19th 2008 11:06AM
Seeing how I pay for time with my real money (and the fake money is increasingly quick to come by), I see absolutely no point in waiting just to save fake money. Euros > Gold.
Eternalpayn Apr 19th 2008 11:32AM
Obviously, like others, cash for ebay. However "I, on the other hand, Buyout pretty much everything, more interested in getting the item/s right away than saving Gold. I guess that's why I don't have much and my wife, well, has more than quite a bit."
That's basically me. I'm super impatient, I level my LW while I wait for a group to finish forming. So, I buyout. I'm also poor as hell, because of it.
enkafiles Apr 19th 2008 11:39AM
Situational. I'm usually very patient when it comes to mats, recipes, good weapons/gear, but if I am skilling up, I'll buyout the stuff I'm missing for those last 5 or 10 points. I get this feeling waiting isn't fun anymore and I want to reach 375 TODAY. Worth the price.
jaenicoll Apr 19th 2008 12:52PM
An interesting detail with all economies is that if you are a buyer and a seller, then the prices really don't matter at all. With WoW, that means that the AH just becomes another vendor.
Like many, I used to horde all the mats that dropped and send them to various alts, each specialising in a type of mat (Blacksmithing, Leatherworking etc). This took a heckuva lot of administration and effort and felt a lot like work.
One day I decided that playing the game was more important than mat administration and went on a selling spree and boy did I feel great and somehow more free.
Nowadays I sell nearly everything I get via my AH/bank alt and buy whatever I need when I need it. Of course, I still shop around for bargains and make bids when I don't need an item immediately but I don't stress the prices in the AH as I know I am making as much selling X as I am losing buying Y.
Treating the AH as another vendor isn't for everyone but consider the time it takes to farm the motes or whatever vs the time it takes to do the dailies and you may find that it is more ecomonical to just buy the motes you need.
Sure, prices can go up and down and some times you may lose out and wish you had horded all those mats for the leg enchant or whatever, but other times you will make out like gangbusters.
The real deal is whether your market speculation skills are greater than the transaction costs to the AH. If they are then I say liberate all that junk and lighten the load. You will feel way better for it.
Peace
Kalnn
Krick Apr 19th 2008 12:24PM
When I leveled enchanting, I was able to make Superior Wizard Oil and still reliably get skill up points, even when it was gray! Before you waste money on expensive mats for other enchants, try cranking out a bunch of Superior Wizard Oil and see if it works for you.
...
Krick
http://www.tankadin.com
Moshnerd Apr 19th 2008 1:46PM
Save time, for sure. I always buyout, and then just do a few dailies later on to make up for it.
seamonkey Apr 19th 2008 2:21PM
Time is money friend.
Shardistral Apr 19th 2008 2:44PM
It really depends on several factors.
Normally I buy gems and then have them cut to save money, but if I just got a new piece of gear and the raid is in 10 mins, I'll buy into the price gouge.
When I did LWing, I normally only used the leather I had skinned- except when a big milestone was coming up, like a new piece of gear I could use, a major skill-up recipe from the trainer, or a skill-level boundary (eg 50, 125, etc), at which point I'd blow all my gold on the leather from the AH.
rick gregory Apr 19th 2008 3:50PM
Buyout in the AH. If I need money in game I'll either do the new SSO dailies for a quick 60-80g or farm something that's easy to farm, sell it and buy what I need.
For example, if I need Large Prismatics... They're about 20-25g per. I can farm 5-6 Primal Mana on my rogue in an hour and they're about 20g. So I do that, sell them at the low AH price minus 50c (so I'm at the top of the page) and buy the LPSes. Gold, like all money, is a medium for exchanging value between different things....