A lot of people getting into to the Auction house or people who are hesitant to do so usually have had an experience of not fully understanding their server or at least the current trend of demand. Taking the time to figure out what is going on around you on your realm can make a big difference in your item sales.
Trend of demand is something that every realm of wow is affected by. PVP, RP, PVE servers all have different and similar demand trends and understanding these is a key component of understanding the auction house mechanics and the natural cycle of materials through your realms virtual economy.
Picture the circle of life that you might have heard of from grade school or from Elton John. Now apply this idea to wow and overlap it with many other circles. Trend of demand affects one ore many circle(s) of goods. There are a few things that have major affects on trends that you should already know about.
Patches and Expansions being the first. Whenever new content is on it's way people unload their mats and goods to "not be that guy stuck with everything" when it gets undervalued. Much like the housing bubble of 2008-2009. You want to sell and unload your goods before it pops. Every content cycle in WoW is a similar bubble especially in the consumable pve market (flasks, cut gems, item enhancements ect). PvP seasons can also fall into this category, however keep in mind that many markets will become more popular at the start of a new PvP season and you should be prepared for material prices to increase in addition to competition.
Aged content that has been cleared and is on farm (at least normal modes) is another major game change for many Circles. When guilds are spending hours wiping on a boss potions and food items are much more valuable. If you pay attention to the longterm trend of fish feasts during periods of progressive PVE in WOTLK you will see when your server aged through it's content. The easier it is cleared the less demand for fish and pots.
Guilds with large or dedicated membership will also shift goods around your realms economy. If a large guild is rumored to be breaking up or transferring then you can expect a material dump as people leave. Smaller realms will be affected by this much more than a large realm with a stable economy. The key is to pay attention to what is going on in the social portion of your server because that is going to have an effect on the auction house as much as small patch which changes a raw material mechanic such as the purchasable frost lotus. Guild research is so important that I will probably be doing another post shortly on how beneficial it is.
These few examples should be obvious to many but they should also get you thinking about other things that could be affecting your realms economy. Please feel free to share your thoughts and realm trends in the comments.
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