WoW Rookie: The art of conducting business in [2:Trade]
by Lisa Poisso 
Apr 29th 2009 at 7:00PM
Just spent half an hour fruitlessly spamming the Trade channel in hopes of getting your new gear enchanted? Maybe (just maybe) the players on your server aren't the most unfriendly, unhelpful people this side of Silithus. Maybe you simply haven't figured out the most effective way to use [2:Trade].
According to loyal WoW Insider reader Sarabande, there's more to successful in-game transactions than simply advising someone to "use the Trade channel for trade." We agree – so this week, let's cover some basic tactics to get your sales sold, your portals ported and your enchantments enchanted.
Link it. Links get noticed. Whether you are buying or selling an item, linking entices players to click. Once they click, you've caught them in your (nether)web. To insert a link into a chat channel (which works in whispers, party chat, guild chat, raid chat and Trade), hold down Shift and left-click on the item. Other players can click on that link to bring up the item's tooltip. You can link anything you can see an icon for: items other players have linked, tradeskill items or enhancements from your own or another tradesperson's professions UI, items being worn by others, items displayed as rewards in your quest log, anything in the Auction House ...
When you want a specific player-made item or enchantment -- again, link it. Don't periodically interject a forlorn "Can anyone do Enchant X for me?" into Trade chat. First, ask in Trade for an Enchanter to link their profession. (Preferably, you'll have used wowhead.com or another database to look up what you want beforehand and be able to specify the minimum skill level the Enchanter needs to be in order to perform what you're looking for.) What you'll see in chat is a gold link saying nothing more than the name of the profession; click that, and you'll see every item/skill the tradesperson is capable of producing. You can scroll through that list in order to look up mats and to find links to the items you want.
Know your mats. Before you start asking around for a craftsperson to make something for you, know what materials ("mats") are necessary. Use wowhead.com or a similar database site, or ask someone to link their profession.
Specify whether or not you are providing mats. If you don't have your own mats, know the going market value (check the Auction House).
Know when to not to try to sell something in Trade. If you suspect other players might flame your item or question your sale for any reason (it's grey, it's a novelty item, it's an item you can buy from a vendor), use the Auction House instead of Trade.
Advertise that you're ready to pay up for services. Don't merely ask for an item or service; be clear that you're willing to pay. "WTB port to Exodar, please" or "Need port to Exo; tipping 5g" earns you a better response from Mages who are wary of port-and-run cheapskates.
Be willing to travel. When you want to buy something, it's up to you to get to the store. Have your hearthstone up and be ready and willing to travel.
Don't fume about non-Trade conversation in the Trade channel. Yeah, it's annoying. Yeah, it's going to continue. Conduct your business (with attention-grabbing links, remember?) and people will respond accordingly.
Read more about using (and abusing) the Trade channel:
WoW Rookie feeds you the basics to get you off to a good start in the World of Warcraft. Find more tools you can use in the WoW Insider Directory and WoW Insider Leveling Guides.Filed under: Items, Tips, How-tos, Features, WoW Rookie, Making money
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 3)
Worcester Apr 30th 2009 1:44PM
Dear Iry,
I'm humbled in your presence. My my own pettiness could never dream to reach the superb levels you've demonstrated here.
Well done sir! I applaud your skill, your excellent powers of debate! I am beaten soundly by your pettiness! Noble victory!
Worcester Apr 30th 2009 1:52PM
Dear Iry,
I'm humbled in your presence. My my own pettiness could never dream to reach the superb levels you've demonstrated here.
Well done sir! I applaud your skill, your excellent powers of debate! I am beaten soundly by your pettiness! Noble victory!
Janaa Apr 30th 2009 4:34PM
Pro tip: Pseudo-intellectuals are easy targets for trolling, as demonstrated.
Worcester Apr 30th 2009 4:45PM
So by your own posting and definition... that would make you... a professional intellectual troll?
Balius Apr 29th 2009 7:34PM
If you say "Looking for Leatherworker" or "Looking for Blacksmith", I'll ignore you. The game allows you to be specific, so be specific. I personally don't need a link, but if you don't provide one you better have things spelled properly.
If you're asking for someone to craft for you, know and have ALL the materials before spamming. If it's something rare, tip accordingly (and advertise the tip, if you need to bait a crafter).
Above all, be polite, don't rapidly spam your request (it's going to get you put on ignore or reported, not encourage helpful players to appear), and get your spelling and grammar at least understandable if you can't manage any better.
Also, don't spam for something, then run to a battleground or leave town and expect the person who replies to wait on you to finish what you were doing.
Neirin Apr 29th 2009 7:39PM
I forgot the courtesy thing in my response, but it makes a big difference. If you've been spamming trade for 20 mins it can be frustrating, but calling every LW/chanter/etc. a douche for not helping you is going to end any chance at getting help until you come off people's reported list (assuming they didn't just outright ignore you).
Bruhaha Apr 29th 2009 10:25PM
I answer people that say LF LW all the time. Isn't a big deal to just whisper then with a link to your profession and could possibly net you a bit of gold. If they could link the profession, then don't have a need of finding someone to do something.
sinthar Apr 30th 2009 7:49AM
Being dyslexic myself (love spellcheck) then id be in trouble with you by not being able to spell very well. That i consider to be a shame. I DO try, but am unable, so i get tarred with the same brush as people who cant be bothered to try to spell? That doesnt seem fair to me. I may misspell, but ususally my meaning is as clear as day. It does not compare with someone who uses numbers, missing letters (or words), slang known only to the 'leet (+some numbers here)!!!11!!one' (and no i cant even understand it - let alone reproduce it here). So please ease up a little on genuine misspellings, just for us people with a genuine problem. A little tolerance is all i plead for. Please?
Neirin Apr 29th 2009 7:35PM
I almost never respond to the LF X proffesion spams. 99% of the time the people don't even know which enchants they want, let alone have the mats ready to go. Even worse, half of them seem to think that since I'm an enchanter I must know the best enchants for them to get - 'cause playing a balance druid gets me very well acquainted with the minutia of enhance shamans /sarcasm.
If someone asks for a specific enchant I'll usually respond as long as I'm just idling and I'll always respond if they give a link from Atlas loot or something - shows they probably have the mats on them. The only exception would be fiery. Almost no one who spams for fiery knows what it does or what it's mats are, they just want a glowing sword.
Angus Apr 29th 2009 8:11PM
Berserking and anything with AP or melee dps stats.
;)
As for your actual comment, I agree. I get asked to link the combat shotgun a lot, and then they ask if they really need to provide all the mats... "Yea pal, I'll just eat those eternals at 30+ G a piece, suuuuuure... GO GET THE MATS"
Sminus Apr 29th 2009 7:38PM
From the picture, he forgot to say he's looking for Anal Firebloom. Rookie mistake for using trade.
(Sarcasm, for those of you with your detectors off.)
Angus Apr 29th 2009 8:12PM
I turn off trade as soon as I see the first of these, it is safe to go back 2-3 hours later. Usually.
The Murlock Movie Channel at least could be cute.
Amethyst Apr 29th 2009 7:47PM
Exactly, people who simply say 'LF Alchemist/enchanter' or whatever are just silly, they'll waste tons of time talking to people who don't have the thing they need, or people simply won't reply.
I don't know if this is true for anyone else, but if I ask someone to link their prof so I can check the mats needed for something, once I've bought them I'll nearly always whisper the same person back and ask politely if they can make it for me. Being nice and helpful in trade can sometimes make you a profit ;)
'Need port to Exo; tipping 5g" earns you a better response from Mages who are wary of port-and-run cheapskates' - I know that feeling. There's nothing worse than someone who spams trade with WTB portal then doesn't pay. Don't say you're going to buy one then sneakily take it for free!
Well, I think that's that rant over with!
Bob Dewane Apr 29th 2009 11:29PM
Personally, when I'm looking for ports I just run a quick /who check and then whisper the mages individually with a "Can I please buy a port to Dalaran for 3g?" Asking politely and offering to pay up front has become habit for me. In fact, I pester the mages on my server so much that I often end up using a lot of the same ones (the /who list is alphabetical after all) and since they know I'm good for it, I'll often find my portal ready for me by the time I get to where they're at on the map (it's like I'm tipping some swell magical doorman!).
Retgar Apr 29th 2009 7:55PM
People still go into Trade?
Seedcake Apr 29th 2009 9:55PM
To be blunt, Trade is no longer for trade, but is just a place to be stunk up by popularity-whores who crave their names to be called out by an adoring populace every time they show up like they're some kind of Norm-from-Cheers. No, I don't think much of trade chat personalities.
I recently installed a chat addon which, among other useful things, allows me to change the names of chat channels. "Trade" got immediately renamed to a much more appropriate "HURRR". I find this improves the entertainment factor of Trade by veritable leaps and bounds! :D
Gameldar Apr 29th 2009 10:55PM
You made a reference to wowhead but didn't mention one of the more useful features of it. You can actually create links for items that you don't have from the wowhead database.
1. Find the item you want on wowhead.
2. Click on the 'link' button - copy and paste the text from popup dialog into chat and you can then link the item. For example this is the text for the Red Sword of Courage
/script DEFAULT_CHAT_FRAME:AddMessage("Shift-click this to place a link into a chat message: \124cffa335ee\124Hitem:37401:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0\124h[Red Sword of Courage]\124h\124r");
3. You can now shift-click the link into trade
... so there really isn't a need to ask someone to link there enchanting so that you can then link specifically what you need.
themightysven Apr 29th 2009 11:48PM
I have been trying to figure out how to link things for almost a year, thanks :)
sinthar Apr 30th 2009 7:49AM
atlas loot - far easier imo - and is in game so no tabbing etc
ken Apr 30th 2009 12:25PM
Even better for linking (includes a handy search): http://fizzwidget.com/linkerator/