Vendor or Auction House: how to decide what to sell in WoW Forever

Keep the quantity you will use

Before selling, check for a quest use, a craft you intend to make, or supplies you need for the next trip. Set that quantity aside. You can sell the surplus without leaving yourself short when you reach the recipe or quest.

Read the item's binding and use requirements, too. A price for a similar item is no help if yours cannot be listed. The item's quality alone doesn't tell you whether to keep it or whether anyone will buy it.

Check the vendor offer

Use the vendor value for the same quantity you would auction. If an item vendors for 5s each, four of them would bring 20s. A 30s auction listing for all four needs comparing with that 20s, not with the 5s for one. These are fictional prices.

The vendor offer is the cash you can take now. Subtract it once from the auction's net return to see how much extra the auction could bring. It isn't an Auction House fee. What you paid to buy or craft the item still matters to its total profit, but you have already paid it whichever way you sell now.

If the item can't be sold to a vendor, leave that option out. You can keep it, try an eligible auction sale, or discard it after checking its uses.

Read auction prices per item

Search the exact item and check several comparable listings. For equipment, look at the level, suffix or variant, and stats. For materials, check how many units the price buys. A cheaper listing total may simply mean fewer items.

One unusually expensive listing isn't much evidence of what your item will fetch. Other sellers can ask whatever they like. Your completed sales give you a firmer starting point because a buyer paid that amount for that quantity, though they don't guarantee the next sale.

If you have little to go on, try a small quantity you already own when the possible extra return seems worth the posting charge. Leave the rest out of your cash budget while it waits for buyers. Buying up cheap listings to clear the way for your price puts more gold at risk and needs a separate decision.

Compare a sale with an unsold return

First work out what would remain after the selling costs:

Extra return if sold = net auction proceeds − vendor proceeds for the same quantity.

If the receipt already deducts a commission, use that net amount without deducting the commission again. A returned deposit cancels the money you paid at posting; it doesn't add to the profit.

Fictional comparison — not actual Forever prices or fees:

The failed attempt assumes you can still vendor the bundle for 20s. The chance of a sale is unknown.

Trying the auction could earn another 14s or cost 2s, and you have to wait to find out. That may be worth a try with spare stock. If the 20s is needed before the auction ends, the possible 34s won't pay today's bill.

Does this need another trip?

Searching, splitting quantities, posting and collecting returns all take time. A quick check while you're already in town may be worth the possible 14s in the example. A separate trip for the same bundle may be more trouble than you want.

You can handle several familiar items together to cut down the work. A bag full of unfamiliar equipment takes longer because each piece needs checking. Leave room for that difference when deciding how much to sell at auction. You may also enjoy the selling itself; you don't have to earn the same premium as someone keen to get back to quests.

When the charge doesn't match the display

Wowhead reported deposits being charged differently from the displayed amount during earlier pre-release tests. The report doesn't establish what happens on the current build. Source: Wowhead's reported Auction House tests.

For a listing you already intend to make, note the item, quantity, duration and displayed charge. Compare the wallet immediately before and after posting, with no other transactions between. If the charge differs, hold off on similar listings until you know what you are paying.

After an unsold auction

Look at the returned item alongside current equivalent listings. You might have asked too much or offered an awkward quantity. Work out the return again before changing either: a lower price and another posting charge leave less to keep. The original 14s gain in the example no longer applies if you cut the price.

Lost fees belong in the item's total record, but another auction won't recover them merely because you keep trying. Compare the next listing's possible return and new charges with the vendor money available now. Vendoring can still be the better next choice after an expensive failure.

If you want another attempt, the Auction House selling guide covers the listing and receipt.