WoW Life Lesson #29: Always Shop Where People Know You
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Admin on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 12 Comments Tags: Addons, Addons, discount, exalted, repair, reputation, wow life lesson, wow life lesson 29, wow life lessons
Admin on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 12 Comments Tags: Addons, Addons, discount, exalted, repair, reputation, wow life lesson, wow life lesson 29, wow life lessons 
So I'm sure many of you are running around in WotLK, leveling up your toon, gaining profession points, maybe a few new achievements. And with all of that 'living' in the World of Warcraft, there's a price: food, water, reagents, ammo and repairs.
But here is what some of you may be missing: Always shop where people know you.
In other words, only buy and repair from people you are exalted with or you will lose tons of gold in the long run. Since patch 2.3, your toon's status with a faction can get you great discounts at exalted. These discounts of 20% are huge for guilds that try for world-first boss kills or grind on trash mobs in places they don't have the gear to go into and kill the boss.
"But I'm leveling. I don't have time to go to SW or Thunder Bluff. And what's a few more copper anyway?"
Okay, okay. you might be right. You might be willing to pay a little more for a service that's right in front of you rather than going to Shatt and porting to IF or Undercity. And really what's the difference on a 10% discount? What does it really matter?
Well there may come a day when you might want the epic flying mount riding skill or maybe cold weather flying? That's the day you'll wish you'd repaired at SW or Undercity.
Get a little addon called FuBar_DurabilityFu (requires FuBar) or something like it. It will show you exactly how much you save by repairing with a faction that really, really likes you.
Now riddle me this: Do you do that in RL?
Well?
Do you shop at a convenience store for basics like milk, cookies and bread? Do you take your car to be repaired at a big dealership who know you only by your license plate number? Do you spend thousands of extra dollars on on an education or a house because you took the first loan you got approved for by some huge conglomerate who might know who you are if you give them your social security number?
Well?
So take a look at the game, and the players who have loads of money, already rollin' around on those mammoths you want so much. Take a look at the system of commerce, and really watch it. And then you'll start to see that it really is who knows you, who you're exalted with, that gets you the best deals, the best stuff and those special little things that they won't even consider giving to just anyone.
Always shop where people know you. You will save in the longrun and you will get better deals that you ever thought possible.
Reader Comments (12)
I didn't even know you could repair cheaper where you were exalted with, thanks alot for the tip :D
where is the wal mart in WoW anyways?
Part of this equation is also working towards making sure you are Exlated with someone. Fostering relationships and building goodwill where you go is a part of this process in game in Real Life.
For instance, getting in good with your Dalaran repairers is a great idea, since you'll almost certainly be using it as a travel hub. Going the extra mile to get their rep up is not a bad idea by any means. The same is true in Shat and your faction's major cities. Instead of having to go far afield for your deals, which eats up money and time in travel, make the places you go all the time your focus.
In real life, it took me years to build up first-name (now nick-name) service at the my car repair center of choice and it was totally worth it. They love it when I come in and are nicer, faster, and more understanding. It took time and effort, but it's worth it. I actually enjoy seeing these people now.
walmart is the controler of the sourge
thanks for the tip
I absolutely agree with the OP.
I always buy and repair with factions I am exalted with (Scryer, Silvermoon City, Sha'tar, Kirin Tor, among others) and it has saved me atleast 5k gold. I have about 14,000 in my inventory and I have sent ALL my money from ALL my characters onto my main so I can get that mammoth. I am farming double time and I hope I'll be able to get it soon.
haha im a squish mage my repair at the most is only 25g so /mage squishness ftw
(FYI - the following post may include terminology that some may deem 'colourful' )
Call me a tightwad, but I always knew that 'Ambassador' was a great title to have / Achievement to get...
Only thing that blows whale-d*ck more than using Exalted Faction Vendors / repairers (as far as the newer patches go) is that -- apparently -- Riding-300 is now only FOUR THOUSAND gold instead of 5000 (I dobt that this is rep. discount)... Blizzard need to work a rebate scheme for those who get this kinda stuff within x-days of the prices going down... 1000G isn't exactly 'bend over & take in the a$$' - kinda money, when ya have to sweat blood to earn it...
*NOT using Exalted...
:o This is kind of common sense, no?
But I suppose this is an attribute that not all of us have, so, good post.
One thing to consider is travel costs too. If it costs you two gold to get somewhere you have exalted at just to repair, then you're losing money, not saving it.
For me, I'd have to spend over a gold to fly to Dalaran, portal to Shat, portal to QD (as SSO is my only exalted, I hated rep grinding pre-dailies), repair, hearth back to Dalaran, and spend over a gold getting back to my questing area.
Flying in Northrend is expensive.
Fobok - Exalted with main 5 Alliance/Horde, ftw...
Gotta be worth a cpla days on LLQ to get...
... that way you can sail/Zep back to an Exalted city from BT or HF...
... and the flight may still be less that the discount, esp. for plate wearers... squishies...? wouldn't know; sorry...