Combine this with a shorter supply created by banning even a few bot farmers per server, and the general desire to avoid farming, reduces supply.

Each aspect of this causes prices to rise, combined it causes them to spike. However, the price of materials is still acceptable and profit’s are simply there for the more wary buyer.

Stockpiling 300 of each ink type will remain profitable as you dump them on the AH for new leveling scribes. Expect a sales price at 15-20g per ink if you keep it listed for the first month of the Expac. With roughly 8 types of ink at 300 per, you can expect 18,000g in sales for roughly a 5000g investment since the high end cost of inscription is on the glyphs, not on then ink!!!

I only store raw gems. My operation is not large and keeping the gems raw allows me to stack them which I cannot do with the cut product. This also allows me to stock “X” amout or raw material which can be cut into several possible finished products. It is much like the “Just in time” philosophy used by many manufacturers of finished products.

However, it would seem to me that many of the stratigies suggested here would require a large stock of cut gems. If an account like that was hacked then the hackers would be trying to strike a balance between selling as quickly as possible while still trying to maximize gold return.

There is not any way that anyone purchasing these gems would be able to know this unlike those that purchase gold. Of course, even though much of the gold sold for real $$ is realized by farming and selling the mats there is still a portion of it that is the result of theft from hacking. People who purchase gold to take the easy way out are feeding these leeches just as those in real life who profit from the misfortune of others by buying and selling stolen merchandise to avoid paying the full price for it in hard earned $$.

As you say, this site contains a wealth of information, ideas and tips. It is up to each of us to determine what will best suit our needs and adapt. I have learned a great deal here and continue to learn. I often wish I was smart enough to understand it all but I am happy to use what I can and I have passed the URL on to several friends who have benefited themselves.

This price is very close to the cost for raw gems so, like you I have purchased some of the product but there is a limit to how much of that you can do if they keep posting.

Maybe The botters are focusing more on mining now?