First Time Trader Questions

First Time Trader Questions

in Black Lion Trading Co

Posted by: Achilles.6870

Achilles.6870

I just today started trading for profit after watching and reading many guides. I just have a few question about it.
I started by putting out orders for 10 stacks each of copper, silver, iron, and green wood logs. Then I put some orders out for some inscriptions (20 mith beserker, 20 mith carrion). I’m trying to get a feel for what sells right now and where I should focus my attention. In all I put about 25 out of my 75 total gold into this. With the mats I have a 5% margin (taking into account tax) and the inscriptions I have about 50%. From what I can tell mats are safer investments while the inscriptions are aggressive/risky.

Questions:
-How long should I wait on these orders, I’ve heard anywhere from 24-48 hrs generally?
-Should I dump all my cash into a diversified group of AH investments (I’m thinking 90% safe mats 10% risky items)?
-The above would likely net me 5-10% returns, is this low (and safe) or high (and risky) or am I being dumb (i.e low and risky)?

-A little unrelated question, would it be wise to buy out small groups of named exotics and resell at a higher price (say 20% taking into account taxes), or is there not much movement there?

Thank you in advance if you can answer my questions

First Time Trader Questions

in Black Lion Trading Co

Posted by: Vol.5241

Vol.5241

I’m by no means a power trader, but more of an investor:

I’m not a fan of trading low value-high trade items.

Yes you can make money off of it, but the returns are so low that you’re better off grinding. Time is money, and if you’re not earning a good profit rate per hour, it’s still not a good investment.

What you should be investing in is T6 mats. Not only are they high trade, but they are high value. The lowest T6 mat has a value of about 4-5S, while the highest is 15-18S. Often there are big enough fluctuations between morning and evening that you can make good profitable trades.

But on to your questions:
-Prices keep fluctuating, so sell when you are comfortable enough with the margin you see fit. It may take an hour or it may take 2 days.
-Diversification is always good. But it’s hard to find a high risk, high reward investment here. There are no items that I can see that fit that profile. It’s more like high risk, low reward.
-5-10% return is relative – depends on the value of the item. If you’re earning 10% return on a 1s item, that’s not exactly good. If you’re earning 10% on a 10s item, that’s good.
-If you’re going to buy named exotics, only buy those that have a decent skin and stats. That being said, I would never try to corner the market for named exotics. I often find the demand to be low-moderate and the prospect of being undercut huge.

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First Time Trader Questions

in Black Lion Trading Co

Posted by: Achilles.6870

Achilles.6870

Thanks for the advice.
The mats sold pretty quick, but as you said they were low yield; 5% on 2g isn’t much. My inscriptions have a higher margin and are more expensive, but I have been having trouble selling them. I think I’ll go try t6 fine mats as you suggested tonight/tomorrow.