I get a lot of mails with a lot of questions about the Diablo 3 auction house every day. These come from members of the Diablo 3 gold guild, blog readers and players who are considering taking up Diablo 3 who stumble upon my website filled with questions and concerns.
One of the more commonly asked questions is: “What kind of mistakes can I make in the Auction House in Diablo 3?” It’s a good question! This post is going to be dedicated to four of the more common mistakes – and how to avoid them:
Maxing out your auction slots
The easiest mistake to make when you’re getting carried away: “Oh, THIS is bound to sell right away, so I’ll list it up – oh and THIS is bound to sell too!”
This is a common error. You can often overestimate the value of items and list 10 in the belief that one or two will definitely sell in the next hour or two. In that time you find an even more valuable item and none of your slots have freed up.
Always leave at least 1/10 of your slots “free”. Free meaning filled with a commodity stack that you can cancel if it isn’t shifting or if something better comes along (never leave a slot ‘empty’ if you can help it).
10/10 immovable auctions are most likely caused by the next problem.
Under Pricing
Not quite as bad as over pricing but damaging nonetheless – putting an item up for sale at much less than its market value. Often the kind of mistake made by a new player not aware of how much gold is floating around at the top tiers (how much a 60 rerolling to an alt is willing to pay for a +17 dex level 8 ring for instance).
Again you can beat this problem with a glance at the competition.
Pricing below vendor price
Under pricing taken to dangerous extremes. Some players are so keen to convert items to gold that they won’t even check the vendor price.
Remember that you don’t want to sell just AT the vendor price. You’re being charged 15% for each sale so you have to be more than 15% OVER the vendor price to make it worth your while.
Further – if you’re considering selling an item (taking up an auction slot) for 25% more than vendor price, a lot of the time it’s better to just sell to a vendor. Save your slots for max profits.
Over pricing
A relatively simple one – you put a price on an item without checking its market worth. Most often items won’t sell when they’re overpriced as they’re above the competition. Your auction will sit there for 48 hours without so much as a bid. In that time you could have used the same slot to sell an auction or 2, or 5… or as many as 30 auctions at market price.
You can beat this problem with a glance at your competition. Use the auction filters wisely!
There are many more mistakes that the new trader can make – I’ve only scratched the surface. At the same time, I am sure it will help some of you avoid some of the more common Diablo 3 auction house errors. They can be avoided by taking care when you enter this market. By researching your competition using the auction tools available and by asking for help from communities like the gold guild. Remember that every bit of information helps!
Ray