Deep Dive – Flipping Pets

An easy entry level market to get into when it comes to making gold (and by easy, I mean relatively hands off) is selling battle pets. These items have a few things going for them – low auction house fees (1s per pet), and the ability to swap them easily between servers. There are tons of ways to profit from this method but here’s the details on mine. Before we get into it I have to note that selling pets is a SLOW market. You need a large stock to see a few sales each day. Some pets also sell better than others. Learning what pets are desirable would be considered your homework.

First, I’ve set myself up on a high/full population server where pets are pretty cheap because there’s tons of players. I use this server to purchase pets. I then scribe them, and bring them over to the two low population servers that I actually play on. I use a handful of addons to help make things easier. I use:

  • BattlePetCageMatch (used to cage pets, you can create all sorts of profiles and conditions to caging)
  • Rematch (used for actual pet battles, I get strategies from xu-fu listed below)
  • Rematch – TSM Pet Values (not required, but lets me see pet values from the journal UI)
  • tdBattlePetScript (used for actual pet battles, it’s a script that will run a fight with human input for each stage)
  • TradeskillMaster (used to actually put my pets for sale on the AH)

I also use Xu-Fu for pet battle strategies and to learn which pets might be used in popular fights.

I created a new profile in TSM and simply called it pets. Under general options, I have ‘filter group item list based on the following price source’ set to DBRegionMarketAvg. You can type /tsm sources to see what other pricing you can use for TSM, but the reason I use this is because it’s fairly static and will help me make sure that I buy pets for one price on one server and that price will remain close to the same on another server without having to manually check every purchase.

In my case, I don’t really worry too much about the price of pets, because while some people are sniping/flipping/buying the most expensive and sought after ones, I am doing the opposite. I buy all pets that display as 20% dbregionmarketavg or lower by typing /battle pets into the ‘search the auction house’ filter.

Some are a few silver, some a few gold. I look for specifics that are used in pet battles (I am an avid pet collector myself, so I have a pretty lengthily list) and I keep some variables in mind like ‘where does this pet come from’ so that I’m not purchasing pets that are going to continue to plummet. I also keep the server I’m transferring TO in mind – is there a lack of M+ being run, do some of these pets come from there, that sort of thing.

I then take these pets over to my home servers, and I level them up to 25. I do this for a few reasons but the base reason is because I don’t particularly enjoy shadowlands, and this is a really easy way for me to level my alts. It’s not fast, but it is easy.

Back in TSM, I have groups set up – one group for level 1 pets, and 1 group for level 25 pets. You can do this a few ways, you can manually add the pets you’ve purchased that are in your bags, or you can import pet strings. If you don’t know how to make groups in TSM there are tons of videos and instructions out there. Since this is a post about pet flipping and not the functions of TSM, I’ll save that for another time.

In the TSM operations tab I create a new operation for level 25 pets – and you can set your numbers at whatever you want, but ideally, you want to be earning MORE than you’ve paid for the pets – mine is set to 500g + 50% DBRegionMarketAvg as my minimum price. That means the least amount of gold I’ll accept for a pet when someone else has one listed (ie: I’m undercutting) is 500g plus 50% of the dbregionmarketavg. Since I buy my pets at 20% that’s a profit, plus I slap on the 500g for the pet being level 25. I adjust these values for maximum and normal price. Remember, NORMAL price is the price you will use when there are NO OTHER PETS that match for sale.

While I do these pet battles I also tend to get those little tokens that change the rarity of a pet, and using them can increase the value. Let’s take ikky, for example, a very popular pet to sell. The base pet is uncommon, using one of these tokens and boosting it to rare will up the value and the stats.

Once I’ve got an operation set up and assigned to my groups, it’s time to cage pets and put them for sale. I recently started using BattlePetCageMatch for this – the addon is fantastic. You can set options for caging, like only caging between a specific level, if you have more than one, and other nifty options.

I don’t like to do cancel scans, so I put my pets up for 12h at a time. I check them twice a day and just leave them to do their thing. There is of course competition out there, that’s just the nature of the game.

This method is NOT one you want to use to make hundreds of millions in gold – but it is fairly easy to get into and will give you a handful of gold here and there for what I consider to be very little effort. You could certainly expand on your pet flipping empire by looking for amazing deals, transferring the most expensive pets, branching into TCG pets, and using trade chat to find potential buyers instead of relying solely on the auction house. Whatever method you choose, I hope I’ve helped give you a little bit of information towards starting. Go out there and make some gold!

Learning Online (So Much Choice)

I recently wrote about going back to school but I’ve also been browsing different methods of online learning that are offered these days. I’m a big fan of (of course) using YouTube, and almost everything you could ever possibly want to learn is on there – but sometimes I’d also like something a bit more structured, or I want something where I can see in depth reviews. To that end, I’ve looked into two popular ‘learning’ platforms, Udemy, and Skillshare. Both do almost exactly the same thing, offer ‘classes’ for people that typically have a cost associated with it. With Skillshare it’s subscription based, you can access any of their lessons for a fee ($20 CAD or there abouts) each month. Once your subscription ends, you lose access. In fact I can’t even browse skillshare without an activated subscription which I find really annoying. They do offer 30 days free, but I’ve used mine up.

For Udemy, you purchase each class individually. You own access to that class for as long as you need it, and you can learn at your own pace without keeping an active subscription. The classes are much more expensive – but – they also have frequent sales. One example is the classes I purchased above, they were 85% off, and less than $20 each. I have absolutely no issue paying people for their time when they’re teaching me something but I obviously do prefer to just purchase a class outright so I can constantly use it instead of using a subscription. If one class takes me three months to complete and I’m paying $20 a month, vs. that same class costing $20 outright – well, it’s easy to see why I made the choice to just stick with Udemy.

I love that there are these (and other) options out there. I love that teaching, and learning, is promoted. It doesn’t have to be for everyone, but it’s something I personally like to make use of and I’m just so thankful that technology has allowed for this to happen. Of course there are good classes and bad ones, and free ones and expensive ones, so figuring out WHAT to take and WHERE to take it is always a challenge – do your research. If you’re good at self motivating and creating your own schedules, it’s definitely something I recommend.

Leveling up In BDO

I’ve continued to play BDO this month alternating between my two accounts every 30 days so that I can remain on the Olvia servers (no PvP happens there). My winter season character (a dark knight) is level 58 and just finished the chenga tome quest. Next I’ll work my way to 61 by using some of the very popular leveling guides, and I’ll attempt to finish off my season pass. When 30 days have passed, I’ll swap back over to my other account, and continue playing the season there. All in all I’m pretty happy with my progress, life skills are moving, though some certainly move faster than others. I still have not even touched hunting yet, mostly because I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it or be any good at it. I hear it’s pretty annoying. Still, it’s on ‘the list’.

I’ve done a lot of AFK fishing, afk combat, and cooking. Alchemy is something I’m really interested in, but getting components is annoying. I haven’t started doing too much trading on this second account, but I made up for that with bartering which levels VERY slowly. In fact after 23 barter trips, I’m still at beginner 2. Ouch.

I’m excited about the new winter zone being added, and while I can see how people would experience burnout and want to play different games, I’m still enjoying myself and trudging along. Maybe when I reach guru in all of my life skills I’ll want to take a break. Until then..

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

You are NEVER too old to learn

I recently made the decision to go back to school – at 40. There were a lot of factors that weighed in on this decision but one of them was simply that I love to learn, and I never had the opportunity when I was younger due to the cost. I moved out when I was 16 and paying for a university education was not in the cards. Now that I’m older, some things (financially) are easier, while other things (time) are more difficult.

My kid was diagnosed with autism as well as global developmental delay at age three. His disabilities require care and help for life, and it’s a full time job. Due to our isolated posting I’ve been managing on my own with the help of my husband of course, but eventually we’ll have more resources available to us (I hope). If anything should ever happen to my first responder husband, I want to have skills readily available that I can use to get into the work force and provide for my family. I want to get these skills now, and not be rushed to get them later when I’m going to have more than enough on my plate.

I’m starting off with classes in French, the basics. I already know some basics but it has been years since I was in a classroom situation doing anything official. In Canada French is the official second language. These courses can ladder to a BA with a focus on French, or I can just continue forward taking certificate programs. Or I can decide on a completely different path, and those courses will work towards credits.

At the same time I’ve also picked up a bunch of Udemy classes on sale for some back pocket learning.

These programs don’t offer any certificates but they should still give me some skills (minus the digital painting one, that one is just for me for relaxation hobbies). I just feel better when I’m learning. I like the structure, I like the organization, I enjoy using new notebooks and pens to take notes. Even if I never really focus on anything, I think it’s important to keep pushing forward in that way. I’m not sure if everyone else is the same in that regard, but it’s almost like a bit of self care. Investing in myself. Believing in myself. I wish things could have been different back when I was a kid, but that doesn’t mean I want to just give up on myself. I love my children, and I love taking care of them – but there’s more to me than just that.

2021 DailyCreative in Review

After taking a few days to think about it, I finally picked a new project to start for 2022. This time around I’m using up some handspun to create a scarf. I plan on using a few different skeins I have, and creating a slight fade between the two of them that I hope works out. I don’t have enough of any handspun to knit an entire scarf, but I do have three skeins that will work very well together (or so I hope). The pattern looks lovely, and I’m already enjoying the progress.

2021 wasn’t as knit heavy as I would have liked, but I did get three major projects done. I finished off my Silver Bell Sweater, I knit an amazing shawl, and I completed my Cable Crush Hoodie (that I love on so many levels). I also did a handful of smaller projects like socks, christmas balls, and dish cloths. I did not learn any new techniques, and I didn’t get to do as much sock knitting as I would have liked. I did get a bit of spinning done, but again not as much as I wanted. Being evacuated in the summer ate up a chunk of time, as did the issues with my hands I continue to have. Some days as much as I’d LIKE to knit, I just can’t. I’m still coming to terms with that even though it’s difficult.

In 2021 I had a loose goal of knitting 12 projects, one for each month – and I completed this. I’m not sure if I want to have the same goal in 2022, or if I just want to knit and see where it takes me. I might even do a bit of crochet. I do hope I get a lot of spinning done, I have so much amazing fiber just sitting there, it deserves to get showcased.

In non fiber crafts, I want to keep drawing. I might do more with miniatures, but I think my days of cross stitching are pretty limited. My eyes (and hands) just can’t seem to keep up. It’s a shame because I have a LOT of supplies, but for now I’m not going to pressure myself. I would like to continue sewing, but again I’m not really sure where to go with that. I had thought quilting would be neat, but it’s also complicated, and seems expensive. I guess we’ll just have to see!