The guide to acquiring Wealth

Disclaimer - Some of the ideas shared here might appear blunt to some people, I expect players to also make claims such "This is not how the game is meant to be played" , "Games are for fun, they aren't meant to be taken seriously", "If everybody starts doing these things the community will crash". If you share these opinions you might as well not read it and save yourself the time of writing such comments. Like it or not, the wealthier part of the server does this on a daily basis, you are at least ought to know how players accumulate as much runes and not fall into some of their traps. Many of the "rules" come from common sense, but people tend to ignore things until they are slammed in their face, which I think is the purpose of this thread. Whether you start doing these things or not is completely up to you.
I have used these rules and made good profits out of them , no special skills are required. I started here a couple of months ago after a very very long break from the game and I used to play on fun servers mostly, so I had very little knowledge when I started, yet I pulled it off
These advices are suitable for players that are looking for better ways to acquire runes to finish their PvP heroes and other such projects.They aren't presented in a specific order, but everything listed here I consider important for completing your goal, I will more likely than not forget to add some things, so I will improve it as it goes

#1 - Your Diablo "career" starts with farming, but expands with trading
Once you know how, abusing the market that is present in this game you can make you far better profits compared to farming yourself.

#2 - Be able to purchase at any given moments
You should have a "bank" of runes that is not used for anything else but trading. You need to be able to buy most of the items/charms/jewels on spot. This will allow you to never miss on good opportunities. At the time of writing I would consider that bank to be around 20 Bers. That would be your trading currency. Define an amount and do not go under it, because it might put you in a bad situation.

#3 - Know the market
You need to get familiar with the items are more sought after than others, because they can be used for quicker profits. Usually items that are essential to beginner players, but include high runes, are a good purchase, because they sell easier.

#4 - Know the prices
You should not allow yourself to be in a situation where you do not know what an appropriate offer would look like - buying or selling. Observe the market, observe the Price check thread, do anything you can do in order to expand your price database. Knowing the correct price ranges allows you to buy things cheap, when you know they can be sold for more. Re-selling for bigger prices is where most of the profits will come from.

#5 - Know your opponent and adjust your offers accordingly
Get familiar with the more experienced and regular traders in the server. Most of the time you will make better profits from the rest of the players. Experienced players will almost always declare prices in the upper price range, which would make it harder to gain a profit. If you know your opponent and know he is not experienced - start with lower offers and then start discussing the prices, do not try to convince players that what they have is worthless - thats disrespectful. If you see others selling something cheaper than the actual price - do not go all nuts from the beginning. Ask first is the price can undergo a slight comment, make them think that they are giving a fair price. Saying something like "CREATE A GAME RIGHT NOW I BUY IT" sometimes will tip them off and they become suspicious - rejecting your offer, even though they declared the price in the first place.

#6 - Profit is being made when you purchase, not when you sell
When you are buying something, you should never expect to get the maximum possible value of it. Which means the price you pay for it should be adjusted to that accordingly. For example (these are not actual prices, just giving an example) : A jewel goes for 4 to 6 bers, but it is very rare and hard to find.You are facing an offer of 5 bers. So, you know its rare, the next thing you need to ask yourself - how many heroes can actually use it? If it is just one class - most of the time this is going to be a bad investment. So, you need to get it for a good price. Sometimes the lack of other offers will lower the price ( no demanding for it, despite the fact that it is rare ). If you can afford to invest some runes, and you don't mind waiting for a good offer - go for it.

#7 - A bad offer is always better than No offer at all
Sometimes, despite being a valuable item, there will be a lack of interest. If you see people trying to sell something days in and days out - make an offer. Do not make it disrespectfully - "Yo, fool, this item isn't worth half as much as you want for it, here is my offer (50% of the price) ", but "Hey, I see the market is dead at the moment for such things, here is my offer, if you are fine with it and do not find a better one , whisper me, I will buy it.". There are many times when sellers are dying for an offer, even a low one, just to see some interest.

#8 - Supply and demand
At the beginning of accumulating more runes , you should avoid the risky situations. Aim for items that are easier to sell ,even if smaller profits are made. Quantity is key here. The more you sell, the more you profit, even if it is small runes, it catches up.

#9 - Demand and supply - If you stumble across a very rare item, you choose your own prices. You can ask for more and if you are the only supplier , sooner or later people will reach out to you. Sometimes it is worth overpaying for an item, if it is rare enough ( Not talking about uniques here, no unique item here is worthy for this particular rule ). If you are the only supplier never ask for the average price.

#10 - Purchase quickly, but sell slowly
If you see somebody selling something for a good price - be in a rush to buy it, for somebody else might make a better offer than you and raise the price, which from a very good becomes average. Do not seem desperate and in a hurry, do not rush the seller to make a decision right away. You want him to do that, but you do not want him to know that you want him to do that.
When you are selling you need to do the exact opposite - always take your time and see whats the best you can get. When you know the prices, you can allow yourself to sell quickly, if you know the buyer is overpaying. If he is just paying, take your time. You can always get a decent offer, but you can miss the chance for a higher profit. That is counter-productive sometimes, but most of the time it isn't. It all comes down to experience. Never sell an item that you do not know the exact value of.

#11 - Do not complain about other player's prices
Make an offer, if it is rejected - make a better one, until you reach the point where paying more would not yield you any profits. Then walk away. Do not make aggressive comments claiming that their prices are high, when you are always expecting to get the best deal of your sales. You do not want to be known as the guy that buys cheap and sells expensive. You can be that guy, but you do not want to be known as that guy.

#12 - Better to break even, but to gain experience, rather than not get involved at all
Experience improves everything. With more experience you can be more subtle in your offers and negotiations. Do not expect to make profits right away. You would be better circulating your runes ( Buy for 2 ber, sell for 2 ber or less ) and gain experience in negotiating, than not gain anything at all. First-hand experience is by far the most valuable asset you can have - no public opinions, price check threads and friend's advices can give you as accurate information as you can acquire yourself by getting involved in trading and observing more. Gain experience, eventually you would not be needing other's advices at all, you would be making up your prices.

#13 - Let the others do the work for you, while you are cultivating your time
A lot of players, when faced a bit higher offer for something that they need, they would prefer to farm for that thing specifically and save themselves the rune. If the difference is big, you might as well. But never do that for low runes. You will always be better of paying Vex for something, rather than wasting 30 minutes of your time finding it yourself. You should always expect to make better profits by paying for it, than farming for it.
This includes buying gems to re-roll charms for example. Yes, you can get 80 gems in 30 minutes, but investing some runes will allow you to re-roll far more charms than you could do by farming yourself

#14 - Small profits count
Even small profits add to each other and eventually merge into something bigger. Do not think that you make little to no profits trading for lower runes ( Vex, Ohm ) for example.

#15 - If you are farming, make intelligent and effective decisions
You always want to optimize the things you do in order to get the best results. You need the fastest runs, the most effective ways to spend your time. Farm zones where you can find anything, never look for something specific - Buy these things. Better pay Vex for Eth CV compared to farming Griswold for 30 minutes - this is the typical example of a bad decision. Most players think that because they saved themselves a Vex rune they made profit, they don't, they waste their time. It is a shame that people actually think they gain something from doing such things.

#16 - Think big, start spending
You cannot make profits without spending currency. Most of the time, the more you spend - the more you earn. You want to be circulating your trading items all the time, adding others to the list. You want to be known as the guy that has it all. Every time you are able to make a purchase, you should look around to make one. Don't be afraid to lose on some deals, experience is far more important. Spend your runes intelligently.

#17 - Aim for the Big fish
You always want to get yourself in the position where you possess a rare item ( not yellow, but hard to come by ) that the wealthier part of the server wants.It's about getting in their circle, then you would be open to better deals. This includes getting your hands on good charms. Which leads me to the next one.

#18 - Know what has real value and what doesn't
Because of the server shop, some items became obsolete , if not perfect. Charms and rare circlets/rings/crafted amulets are ones of the very few things that keep their real value - because they cannot be purchased. When regular players get a drop like a Sacred Armor, they are glad about it. when I actually become sad about it. Such rare item, so hard to come by, yet prices on them are so low. Because only perfect is valuable. Be after what cannot be found on the server shop, as these items will retain their true value. Just think for a second , how low the chances are to find the rare uniques and what their prices would be if they happen to have bad stats on them. Worth the time? I think not.
-- The server shop is essential to pay the expenses of this server, you should understand that. If people weren't purchasing items, we wouldn't be able to play here for free. This is just a side effect of it. Nothing is perfect --

#19 - Pick your prices carefully
Overpricing , contrary to public belief, is not possible on every item. The items that are easy to come by , you want to rid yourself of very quickly, while maintaining profit. Better to sell the cheaper things fast, for less profit, and circulate the items in your trading list, rather to keep them for a week for + Ohm on the deal. You cannot overprice such cheap items, because they are purchased mostly by poor players, that cannot afford to overpay. Expecting them to would be a stupid decision.
Overprice the rare items. Cut the heads of the people that can actually afford to pay.

To be continued.. when I find time

 

Wow, very accurate guide. One more rule the bigger your "bank" becomes, you can become more picky seller(aka overpricing a bit more). If you have established yourself as "the guy that has it all", you can allow yourself to have a warehouse(items - that can be expensive in certain circumstances).

 

The one thing I think is most important when you become wealthier is that you can take on more risky offers, which you wouldn't be able to take if you have a low bank. For example I wouldnt gamble with 15 bers on something if I have 30 in total, which is unfortunate, because most of the good stuff go for 10+ easily.