World of Warcraft Season of Discovery Item Flipping Guide for Beginners

Item flipping is one of the most effective and popular ways to make gold in World of Warcraft. It can net you millions, but some players shy away from it because they think it's too complicated. Sure, it takes some know-how, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be rolling in gold like a pro.

In this guide, we'll break down the basics of item flipping to get you up to speed and also share some handy tips and tricks to help you out along the way. For your first flips, you'll need some starting capital, so before diving in, you should do a bit of farming or buy WoW SoD gold to get as many coins as you need right away.

What Is Item Flipping

Item flipping is all about buying goods for cheap and then reselling them at a higher price at the Auction House, thus making a profit. This system has been around for a long time and proven effective because the in-game market is very volatile, with supply and demand changing constantly. This depends on external factors such as new content drops or changes rolled out in new patches, as well as internal factors when players themselves influence the economy by deliberately buying up certain items, aka resetting a market, to control prices. It's a lot to take in for a first-timer, so we won't delve into the intricacies of more advanced flipping levels right now. To start, you just need to know the golden rule: buy low, sell high.

TSM

TradeSkillMaster (TSM) is the best tool for playing the Auction House. It's an addon that tracks all the item prices at the Auction, also offering a ton of additional functionality: you can group items, search for and import pre-made groups, and customize various operations to automate your sales.

TSM is a complex tool with a lot of features. It's crucial to set it up correctly for your needs, so don't hesitate to study some guides to understand how it works. For beginner flippers, however, it's not necessary to have deep knowledge right away. For now, just focus on learning how to work with item groups, run price scans for them, and post them on the Auction.

Item Groups

On the TSM website, you can search for various item groups and transfer them to your account by copying Import Strings. You can also get Import Strings directly from WowHead, grouping only the items you need. The official TSM website has a detailed guide for creating your own groups, so check it out to get started on the right foot.

Shopping Scans

Once you have your groups set up, head to the Browse tab, select the desired groups, and start a shopping scan. This scan will go through the group and provide you with information about the current bids on the Auction House for all the items. The most important metric here is the percentage at the end of the table, showing the market value of the item. You should prioritize underpriced items with numbers under 100%. The lower the percentage, the more profitable the purchase. It's generally best to avoid items higher than 70% because their prices are very close to the market value, leaving little room for profit. To make it more convenient, you can click on the percentage column to sort the items by their market value from lowest to highest.

However, don't rely solely on market value. Hover over the item to see various statistics and pay close attention to the region sale average number — it indicates how much you can really sell the item for in your region. If this number is lower than the price you're buying for, even if the market value is good, then the item is not worth it. 

Posting Items

TSM allows you to post in bulk, which is very convenient, but to actually make a profit, you'll need to set the right price — not too low to avoid losing money, but also not too high to not scare off potential buyers. The Operations option can help you with this, allowing you to set the price, auction duration, and more for the whole group of items. Take some time to explore what each of the settings does and tailor them to your needs, but try to keep it simple. As long as you're selling for more than you bought, you'll be fine.

Item Flipping Tips to Maximize Your Profit

Start with Small Purchases

Don't rush to get expensive mounts or bulk-buy hundreds of items right away. Start with small amounts and stay within your budget so that in case of failure you won't be left with nothing.

Study the Market

For successful item flipping, it's important to understand what's in demand and why to choose the right items for flipping. If it's challenging for you to grasp at first, look for tips from more experienced players. There are plenty of guides online with lists of profitable items and current market analyses to help you out.

Sell Different Items

Diversify your sales and look at multiple markets. If you only list one type of item, your profit will be lower compared to offering several different lots at once. It's simple math:  if you have only one item on sale and nobody wants it, you'll have zero profit. But if you offer ten different items, the chances of selling something are much higher.

Practice

Practice makes perfect, as they say. If you've decided to earn gold through item flipping, be prepared to hone your skills, and maybe take a few hits along the way, losing a couple of thousand gold before you get the hang of it and start making big money. And remember that it's better to play smart than to take unnecessary risks.