Blizzard recently released remote versions of World of Warcraft's in-game auction house, both through an Internet browser or the iPhone. From outside the game, any player can now browse the contents of their server's auction houses. With a small subscription service of $2.99 a month, you can also create auctions from you bags, bank, or mailbox, no matter where your character is in the game. You can bid on auctions and collect gold, also.
I've seen a lot of players complaining that this is now offering an in-game advantage for real money, which Blizzard said they would never do, but as I see it, they're just offering another access point to parts of the game for a small service fee. Let's face it, the forums are full of people who will complain about things just to be complaining. The people who do appreciate it are quietly running circles around them in the auction house.
More after the break...
I tried the service out while it was in beta, and quickly became enthused about it. When the service went live, I ponied up the three bucks and have been using it every day since then. Very quickly, I sifted through my banks and bags on almost every single alt I have and found all kinds of junk that I don't need or will never use again that was taking up valuble inventory space, especially with the new Cataclysm expansion coming out soon. The first weekend it was in beta, I made over 2000 gold just selling my old things. There are a lot of people leveling and developing new professions, and many of them have a lot of gold. They'd rather buy materials than go out and farm them in many cases, so those forgotten stacks of herbs, ore, and leather can suddenly be extra gold in your bag.
Now that I've cleaned my banks up and settled into a routine, I've become much more competitive. On my main server, Steamwheedle Cartel US, I have a high level jewelcrafter, enchanter, tailor, and scribe. The marketplace can be brutal, and many of your products will bounce back unsold if you don't check in every few hours and see who's undercutting you. It's very fast and easy to pull your listings down and relist them at new prices.
I tried the service out while it was in beta, and quickly became enthused about it. When the service went live, I ponied up the three bucks and have been using it every day since then. Very quickly, I sifted through my banks and bags on almost every single alt I have and found all kinds of junk that I don't need or will never use again that was taking up valuble inventory space, especially with the new Cataclysm expansion coming out soon. The first weekend it was in beta, I made over 2000 gold just selling my old things. There are a lot of people leveling and developing new professions, and many of them have a lot of gold. They'd rather buy materials than go out and farm them in many cases, so those forgotten stacks of herbs, ore, and leather can suddenly be extra gold in your bag.
Now that I've cleaned my banks up and settled into a routine, I've become much more competitive. On my main server, Steamwheedle Cartel US, I have a high level jewelcrafter, enchanter, tailor, and scribe. The marketplace can be brutal, and many of your products will bounce back unsold if you don't check in every few hours and see who's undercutting you. It's very fast and easy to pull your listings down and relist them at new prices.
You can also take ended auctions and re-list them, right from your mailbox. The interface shows you what other items of that type are selling for, so setting your price is a breeze. With a single click, you can claim all of the gold you've made, and see exactly how much your character has to work with.
The iPhone version of the service is not scaled back in any way. All of the features you can find in the browser version are available to you in the palm of your hand. Logging in is secure, and if you have an authenticator on your phone, the program knows this and will make use of it, so you don't have to drop and and get a code. The screen is a bit small, but it's easy to move between character and auctions. Creating and watching auctions is just as fast as the web version, even over AT&T's Edge network. The iPhone version currently has one small perk that even the browser version doesn't currently have, and that's the box that tells you how long before you can collect the gold from your sold auctions. I expect many updates to happen in the coming months, as this is only the initial release.
For me, this service is a jewel. I prefer to spend my in-game time running instances and dailies, and not moving items between my bank and the auction house. I've conducted my transactions from the beach, the car, in a restaurant, on the toilet, you name it. Some of my professions that were gathering dust lately, simply because I didn't want to spend the time hawking my wares have found new life.
Personally, I would love to see them take a few steps further, and give us access to our mailboxes, guild chat, general chat, etc. from outside the game. The Real ID system coming in the next patch promises to give us a new social boost, so I think they're exploring all kinds of possibilities.
The iPhone version of the service is not scaled back in any way. All of the features you can find in the browser version are available to you in the palm of your hand. Logging in is secure, and if you have an authenticator on your phone, the program knows this and will make use of it, so you don't have to drop and and get a code. The screen is a bit small, but it's easy to move between character and auctions. Creating and watching auctions is just as fast as the web version, even over AT&T's Edge network. The iPhone version currently has one small perk that even the browser version doesn't currently have, and that's the box that tells you how long before you can collect the gold from your sold auctions. I expect many updates to happen in the coming months, as this is only the initial release.
For me, this service is a jewel. I prefer to spend my in-game time running instances and dailies, and not moving items between my bank and the auction house. I've conducted my transactions from the beach, the car, in a restaurant, on the toilet, you name it. Some of my professions that were gathering dust lately, simply because I didn't want to spend the time hawking my wares have found new life.
Personally, I would love to see them take a few steps further, and give us access to our mailboxes, guild chat, general chat, etc. from outside the game. The Real ID system coming in the next patch promises to give us a new social boost, so I think they're exploring all kinds of possibilities.
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