Trade to Money and Profit in Online MMORPG – SkyBlue’s Online Game Trading Guide – Part 1






Trade to Money and Profit in Online MMORPG – SkyBlue’s Online Game Trading Guide – Part 1

This guide is written by a veteran pro online player who has had over 10 years of online MMO experience, who has become the top tier player in all of his games played. These are time tested theories and money trading methods that will work with any online MMORPG. It should be noted that this guide will only teach you how to trade to make in-game currencies and NOT real world money (Cash). By reading through and following the concepts laid out in this guide, you will become richer and more powerful in the online game of your choice.


Section 1:  Natural Market Timing
The common market timing strategy for market changes that are often out of your control.
1. Seasonal Items
Basic:
Seasonal items typically are optional promotional items that different publishing companies give out during seaonal events.  These events may include but not limited to, Valentine, Halloween, and X-mas. During these times, there are often either bonus mobs that drop the seasonal items, or the companies simply give them out for free.
Buy Low:
These items are dirt cheap during the event times.   Everyone has them and everyone is trying to get rid of them.   If you plan on to stay in the game for more than half an year, you could try to stock up on these optional items. 
Sell High:
Constantly monitor the market to see the item that you have stocked is finally in demand.  If the price has risen to the point where you would like to sell, sell and take profit!  Typically you would want to do so before the same event in the future.
Risk:
The item of your choice may still be dirt cheap simply because the market is overflowing with them.  This could happen if 1. The game company does not remove the mob that drop the bonus item. 2. The item is utterly useless.  3. Too many people have the items and there are no influx of new players to participate.
2. Cash Shop Items or any form of in-game Cash currency trading through game progression
More and more F2P online games now offer item mall and a platform for in-game players to trade the cash equivalent currencies.  Such as ZEN, Maple cash etc. 
Buy Low:
Typically at the beginning of the game when it is first released.  The game has lots of brand new players who are more willing to spend money in the game to get a head start.  The result is that there is plenty of real world cash floating around, while the in-game money is less fluent because players are at lower level. 
This stage is the perfect time for you to rack up real world money through trading.  By understanding that real world money becomes more and more valuable as game progresses, you can then cash out those valuable real world monies into in-game currencies.
Sell High:
At later game stages, typically the in-game currency becomes weaker and weaker.  Items become more costly to buy, especially the cash shop items.  This is when you should cash out your real life money gained during the beginning stage.  That is if you want to stick with the game till the end.
Risk:
Typically you would have to hold on to the cash for a significant amount of time from half an year to an year.  This will wait out the proper inflation in game.  Some game companies have rules that your real money deposited in the account might expire.   Other than that, this risk is relatively high.  The real life money will always have value in any games.
3. In-Game Events – First Stage (Crafting is used as example)
Basic:
Sometimes if the game is highly diversified to suit different kinds of players.  Game companies might draft different events to suit the different classes in games.  Such as bonus to crafting, bonus to leveling, double EXP and etc.  If you know that your game company does this often, you can cash out on this type of behavior.  In this guide, I will use crafting to make my point.  You can apply this concept to other areas of the game.
Buy Low:
The example that I will use is that for this specific event, the game company has announced that Crafting players will now receive double experience for crafting.  When this happens, sometimes the market will not react much yet.  This is the time that you need to start collecting materials used for crafting for mid and high level crafters.  The prices will be relatively low at this stage.
Sell High:
When the event progresses, the crafting material will become more and more expensive as people trying to take advantage of the double EXP.  This is when you need to cash in your investments.  You can sell as high as you can as long as there is no supply other than yours.
Risk:
You need to have a good gauge on how the player base would react to the event.  If crafting basically sucks in this game.  You should not expect the materials to rise skyrocket in price.  In addition, if you cannot get rid of your stock in time before the event ends, you may also lose your money.
4. In-Game Events – Second Stage
Basic:
If you have followed the first stage explained in number 3.  You should be unloading your crafting materials to the crafters at inflated prices for profit.  However, at this stage, there is another item that is high in supply because of the event.  The item is the resulting product that the crafters make in order to level.
Buy Low:
If the resulting product typically cost more than pre-event.  It will initially increase in cost because crafters cannot turn over their money in order to buy more materials.  Then it would drop because there are too much supply in the market.  At this stage, you can observe to see if the product costs less than pre-event.  If they are, you should stock piling on them with the profit you make on the materials.  
Sell High:
Once the event is completed, there will be a market exhaustion for the items that you have stockpiles.  The reasons would be that the crafters simply get tired or they used all their money in leveling.  This is when you can start releasing some of your stocks at inflated prices for profit.
Risk:
Your stockpile may be too huge or the market may be flooded with them that you cannot sell at a profit for some time.  Also there could be game changes that will affect your holdings. 
5. Release of a new Major Update 
Basic:  I put this section here because it does deal with future market timing. However, this profit concept is explained more in detail in my 4th section: Predicting the future.



Trade to Money and Profit in Online MMORPG – SkyBlue’s Online Game Trading Guide
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