Without going into a longwinded explanation about how I make my gil, I will say that I do pretty well for myself with my primary source of income being weaving and bazaaring my garments. You'll find that a lot of people sell the "easy" items that they grind on and the market gets flooded with these specific items but not the ones that require more materials.
There is also very much a market for lower-level items. I often hear people lamenting that there's no [insert weapon name here] on the market wards that they want to bridge a gap in leveling some DoW/DoM job. I don't really make weaponry, but I've considered leveling smithing/carpentry and checking the wards to see what weapons had none available just to put a couple up on AH.
HQing lower level stuff doesn't net a whole lot of profit though, because they don't sell very well. If I manage to HQ something lower-level I'll usually only try and sell it for just a bit above the low-end going rate of the corresponding NQ item. This is usually gear that people don't plan on keeping for a very long time so HQ doesn't matter as much. It's just a means to an end. HQing higher level gear is tougher (helps to have multiple DoH jobs at 50 but that can be very time-intensive as Aysun remarked), but usually significantly more profitable, but then you have to bear in mind there are probably a dozen crafters trying to do the same thing. I try to go through the wards to see what's unavailable. I pay attention to what people in my LS want and try to make extras to bazaar. If they do well, I keep it going.
Also if you convert your own materia, it's sometimes worthwhile to harvest/buy the catalyst and affix materia to lower level items for a little extra profit. I would be willing to spend a few thousand extra for some gear with a stat boost if it would help me achieve my ends faster, whether it be cutting through beastmen to level a particular class, or land more hits on a DoL job.
The key, I've found, is taking the time to explore what's selling for how much and what's in demand, and then meeting that demand until someone else catches on, and then moving on to another synth when undercutting becomes an exercise in shooting oneself in the foot.
TL;DR:
There is always a niche. Find it. And variety helps too. You'll do better selling 10 different items than trying to move 10 of the same item.
There is also very much a market for lower-level items. I often hear people lamenting that there's no [insert weapon name here] on the market wards that they want to bridge a gap in leveling some DoW/DoM job. I don't really make weaponry, but I've considered leveling smithing/carpentry and checking the wards to see what weapons had none available just to put a couple up on AH.
HQing lower level stuff doesn't net a whole lot of profit though, because they don't sell very well. If I manage to HQ something lower-level I'll usually only try and sell it for just a bit above the low-end going rate of the corresponding NQ item. This is usually gear that people don't plan on keeping for a very long time so HQ doesn't matter as much. It's just a means to an end. HQing higher level gear is tougher (helps to have multiple DoH jobs at 50 but that can be very time-intensive as Aysun remarked), but usually significantly more profitable, but then you have to bear in mind there are probably a dozen crafters trying to do the same thing. I try to go through the wards to see what's unavailable. I pay attention to what people in my LS want and try to make extras to bazaar. If they do well, I keep it going.
Also if you convert your own materia, it's sometimes worthwhile to harvest/buy the catalyst and affix materia to lower level items for a little extra profit. I would be willing to spend a few thousand extra for some gear with a stat boost if it would help me achieve my ends faster, whether it be cutting through beastmen to level a particular class, or land more hits on a DoL job.
The key, I've found, is taking the time to explore what's selling for how much and what's in demand, and then meeting that demand until someone else catches on, and then moving on to another synth when undercutting becomes an exercise in shooting oneself in the foot.
TL;DR:
There is always a niche. Find it. And variety helps too. You'll do better selling 10 different items than trying to move 10 of the same item.
"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." Â ~ Lewis Carol
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
