World Of Warcraft - In Depth Guide To Auctioneer Addon

Written by: Tony Coffee • Edited by: Michael Hartman
Updated May 23, 2011 • Related Guides: Search Criteria | Auction House | World Of Warcraft

Auctioneer is a World of Warcraft Addon that keeps track of every single transaction that takes place on the auction house. Think of it as a huge database of the auction house economy.

Next up: Understanding What a "Great" Deal Is ►

Breaking Down the Search Feature

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Heading to your nearest Auctioneer, opening up the auction house and clicking on the Search tab at the bottom will show you a whole new screen of options. At its core, thats all Auctioneer really is, an advanced search feature.

At first it can appear to be a little overwhelming. To the left side you will several different sections. Filters will allow you to filter out which types of items that you do not want to be shown or scanned in all of your searches. Options and Settings can be used to set up general options and since everyone is different, I will just encourage you to play with them.

The most important is going to be the search section. If you click the gold down arrow beside the searches you will see a lot more options.

Arbitrage: When you first select Arbitrage you will see an options screen in which you can set up your search criteria. After you have set up your options simply hit the search button at the bottom to scan for all items that be sold to the opposite faction and even items that can be sold on different servers for profit. This is really useful for when you are about to change servers as you come off with some crazy deals. Just be sure to have scan info on both servers first.

Converter: The options for this is similar to Arbitrage with the exception of the few new check boxed options. By doing a Converter search you simply look for items that can be sold for profit after you 'convert' them into a different/upgraded item. For example, copper ore could be selling for 1 gold per 20 but copper bars could be selling for 10 gold per bar. Since it only takes 1 copper ore to smelt a bar, you would be making a 100% profit if you did that. A more common item is Crystallized to Eternals. This search will tell you if you can buy the lesser components and convert them to the better and resale for profits.

Disenchant: Set up the same was as Arbitrage as far as options go. Doing a search here will give you a list of all the items you can buy at a low price, disenchant and sale the materials produced at a higher price. For example, a green belt could be on the auction house for 40 silver. It disenchants to infinite dust which you can sale for upwards of 2 gold.

EnchantMats: This really isn't used for making profits, instead it searches the auction house for specific enchanting materials. On the options page you can set what percentage item you are looking for. For example, if you need Lesser Cosmic Essence you can move the slider all the way to 200% and search. The search will only show you items that guarantee you a Lesser Cosmic Essence after disenchanting it.

Milling & Prospecting: Using this search feature you can search only for herbs and ore that can be milled or prospected for profit. For example, a stack of pacebloom may be going for 20 silver. But if you mill them into ink you can sell the ink for 5 gold. This is ideal for scribes looking to make a profit.

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Resale: This is the biggest winner and where you can make most of your money. On the options page just enter in how much of a profit you want to make and hit the search button. This will show you the largest list of items that are posted for lower than the average seen price. The scan will take 1 or 2 minutes. If you plan to use this, be sure that the item you are wanting to sale has been seen over 100 times and that it sales regularly.

Understanding What a "Great" Deal Is

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When doing searches, the most important things to look for are the PCT columns and the number of times seen on the Auction House in the items description. The PCT column shows you the percentage at which the item is being sold for based on its most seen price. The percentages are color coded as well. For example, if an item is being sold for 100 gold and the PCT value shows 50%, its saying that you could very well buy the item and sell it for at least 200 gold.

Use the PCT column when buying anything. A blue colored PCT value means the item is way under what the item typically goes for and will yield you the best profits. A green PCT value means that its a few gold or silver under its average price. A yellow PCT value means that the price is the same as the average and a red PCT value means it's listed far over the average price. Avoid items with yellow and red PCT values as you will either loose gold or only be gaining a few copper.

Keep Updating!

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It is extremely imperitive to do daily searches. If you don't all your information will be 'out of date' and you will end up making silly purchases and auctions. The system isn't automated so you have to be constantly on the look out. Searches should be done at least 3 times a day for as many consecutive days as you can. The economy in World Of Warcraft is much like the real world economy in that it can change in a momemnts notice.

There could be 50 stacks of runecloth on the auction house at 5 o'clock selling for 2 gold a stack and three days later they could be selling for 20 gold a stack. In that case you would know when is the best time to sell runecloth and when the best time is to buy runecloth.

This guide covered the basics more in depth than most guides you see out there. However, there are a few options you can play with if you wanted to. The options are more for narrowing your search down to specific items. You are encouraged to play and test these options when you have done a few scans at least.

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