Find usable equipment or crafting materials, compare unit costs, and avoid mistaking an old scan for an available bargain.
Auction planning
Reviewed · Ragetusk Editorial · Edge Case
How this guide was made
Original examples and tool instructions checked against Ragetusk’s auction implementation. All example prices below are invented arithmetic examples, not market quotes. Actual observations are attributed to AHledger through Auction House Tracker; Ragetusk does not execute purchases or claim these are its own scans.
Choose the market before the item
Select the matching ruleset and faction first. Normal Horde and PvP Horde are separate price contexts; changing faction changes the question as well. Use the market label and observation timestamp together when comparing a result. An unavailable market is missing coverage, not a market with free items or no players.
Find equipment you can use now
Start with the equipment category, then its type. Set the maximum required level to your character’s level. Item level measures the item and is a separate filter; setting only that field can leave gear you cannot equip. Add a quality filter only when quality itself matters, since it can hide a useful cheaper option. The browser cannot infer every character restriction, so verify class, armor and weapon usability in game.
- Known item: enter its complete name and enable Exact name.
- Open-ended upgrade: use category, type and required level; leave the name broad.
- Too few results: remove Exact name, then relax quality and level limits one at a time.
- No match still does not prove the item does not exist. The scan may be incomplete or stale.
Worked budget: unit price versus the whole purchase
Illustrative prices only: you need 12 units of a material, with a budget of 4 gold. Your ceiling is 40,000 copper ÷ 12, or about 33 silver 33 copper per unit. An observed price of 28 silver suggests a 3 gold 36 silver material cost for 12 units, leaving 64 silver. Confirm the available quantity and stack sizes in game before spending.
- A stack of 20 costing 5 gold 60 silver also costs 28 silver per unit.
- That full stack still exceeds the 4-gold budget if you must buy all 20.
- The cheapest unit price does not necessarily produce the cheapest purchase that meets your exact need.
Do not turn a median into guaranteed profit
An observation of 28 silver against a displayed median of 40 silver is 30% below that reference: (40 − 28) ÷ 40. It is a comparison, not a promised margin. The median is not a completed-sale price, the cheapest listing may have gone, and the available quantity may be unknown. Compare the observation time and item identity before treating the gap as useful.
For a craft, compare the same output quantity
Write the full recipe cost as the sum of reagent quantity × unit price, including vendor components. Divide by the number of items created before comparing with a finished item’s unit price. If the output varies, calculate a range instead of one optimistic number. Materials already in your bags are not free for a sell-versus-craft decision: consider what you could receive by selling them instead.
- Missing reagent quote: leave the estimate incomplete; do not substitute zero.
- Vendor alternative: verify stock, access and price before assuming you can obtain it.
- Potential sale: allow for deposits, fees and unsold stock; an asking price alone does not establish demand.
Know when to stop using the snapshot
Observed is when the source recorded the price. Checked is when Ragetusk retrieved it; a recent check cannot make an old observation fresh. If a result is stale, unavailable or lacks a quantity, use it as a lead and inspect the in-game auction house. The website and iPhone app show observations; the released Android guide is offline and does not provide live market prices.
Related reading
Sources: Ragetusk auction market browser and observation labels · AHledger — open data, scan methods and attribution · Ragetusk editorial and data standards