Know Your Enemy

Do YOU know your enemies?  

•  Add your competitors to your friend list to see when they're online (and where they are)

• Are they bank alts or main characters? What are they doing when they're online? Raiding? PvP? Always camping the AH?
• Use the time while they're doing something else than camping.

• If they undercut you although they're not online; they probably use Mobile Auction House.
• You think you need this because you have to work? No! It's "nice to have" but nothing more.

• If your competitor's camping in the same city as you: observe him, what is he doing right now? Creating new glyphs? Crafting gems? Milling herbs or prospecting ore?
• Check his wealth. Compare Achievements - Statistics - Character - Wealth - gold earned from auctions? - most gold ever owned? - total gold aquired?
  
  
• If YOU are using a bank alt for the AH game, add your competitors to every character's friend list you play a lot. Switch to your AH character a.s.a.p. when your competitors come online or went offline.

• Keep in mind that you can call attention to yourself and what you're doing when you're posting your new stuff on AH or offer your professions in trade channel
• Other competitors, who are not that intelligent and didn't add you to their friend list, gonna recognize that you're around and may undercut you as fast as they can.
• Also a few players could think "oh that's a nice idea, I should sell that too, my bank is full of XY..." and you have new competitors around who undercut you.
• It can be better not to make a show about your new stuff.
• You're going to sell that anyway.
• On the other hand, if you're posting your professions, you can earn extra gold for your service.
• I prefer the "quiet way" with my AH character though.

• You can try to communicate with your competitors. Maybe they're friendly players (or bloggers! :O) and give you tips and hints.
• But do not reveal too much of you and your trading
• If they're unfriendly or keeping still - ignore them
• You don't have to deal with them, you can do it on your own!
• Dealing with competitors is difficult in my opinion. Someone asked me to make a deal with him (about how many pieces we're posting, the undercut limit, etc.) but I didn't answer. I'm a faithfully person, but is he too? Before getting disappointed, I won't do any deals.
• One AH camper became a friend of mine. I asked him a few things about trading, how much money he has, what he's selling and he was very friendly and told me a lot. At the beginning, we sold different things (he's only selling gems) but when I sold gems too and undercut him, everything was still fine. We're talking about our sales, incoming gold, always giving hints and tips. Don't wanna miss him. :)

• Figure out if the undercutter is a professional AH camper or just a normal player
• "normal" players don't sell more pieces of one product in general.
• Is it worth to cancel your auctions because of one "normal" player? Remember the deposit.
• undercutter who have something with "gold" etc. in their names are probably traders.
• (of course, players with "normal" names can be traders, too.)

• No competitors online? You can be more relaxed, but don't get careless!
• still check your auctions from time to time. Maybe there are new traders.

I've got 16 competitors on my friend list. I know exactly how to act when they're online.

This were some tips to get known your competitors better. I'm going to write some "strategies" to beat them, hope you'll look forward to it!