Trade Skill Master – Determining Market Value Region vs. Min BuyOut

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If you are a wow junkie like me and all you want to do is make money (gold) then you are in the right place. I have been using Trade Skill Master (TSM) for some time now and there are some things I have learned about Market Value vs. Region Market Value and Min Buyout. Let me tell you they are WAY OFF.

The one important thing to remember is that each Realm is different, and with each Realm there are different areas of the market you need to be aware of depending on your server. Here are some questions to ask yourself.

  • How many players are on my server?
  • How saturated is the market?
  • What are the hot ticket items? and demand for those items?

Taking those things into consideration will help you know when to buy and when to buy it. If you are new to TSM and are simply trying it out be very careful to not dive in to quickly (especially if you have a ton of gold to spend), because like Vegas it can go quick if you are not careful.

There are 3 main things you need to understand when looking at the value of an item in TSM. Here is a screenshot to give you an example of the main three.

  • Min Buyout
  • Market Value
  • Region Market Value

Trade Skill Master Market Values

Min Buyout

Min Buyout is simple the last Minimum Buyout that an item was last listed at which was purchased. This is important to understand and IMO is the most important, because this determined the value of the current item and what someone else is willing to pay for it.

Market Value

Market Value is the value determine across all of TSM. This means the value is determined across all Realms. This is a great value to have, but at the same time it is crap for you because it (may or may not) be viable for you and your server. Remember that the value of an item changes from realm to realm based on supply and demand.

Region Market Value

This calculation is based on the value worth of an item based on your realm. This is a more accurate number to go by, but it may not be. Remember that the value of an item is based on what users are willing to pay…and not what the majority pay for it. Not that I am down playing the majority, but the majority is always changing so it’s important to keep that in mind, especially with comparing to Min Buyout.

Ok now that we got that all out of the way let me give you my advice about what I have learned and how I determine the value of an item based on the numbers.

Since the Region Market Value is an “overall” value to determine an item’s value on your realm, I have found that it is important to look at the Min Buyout value as to the last time an item was listed and what it’s value was…and what someone paid for it. Since item’s values are always changing it’s important to keep up with it. The value today may not be the value tomorrow.

Of the 3 main values listed above I determine my cost for an item based on the Min Buyout. The reason is that is the most current value placed on an item that a user was willing to pay. Almost every time I use this method to determine how much to list an auction or use the trade channel (WTS) to sell an item.

Hope this helps.