Guild Wars 2: 5 tips for making money on the trading post – Tip 3

Tip 3: Don’t forget the Black Lion Trading Company gets a cut

So you’ve added up the cost of all your mats and you know the cost of the item you’re going to sell. Good for you. Maybe you’re thinking you’ll just sell it for 10% more than it costs you to make it. If you are, you’ll lose money.

Why? Because you still need to factor in the 15% cut the Black Lion Trading Company (BLTC) takes.

Just like the taxman, the BLTC takes a percentage of anything you list. The BLTC charges 5% the sales price for listing your item, plus another 10% of the price once your item sells. If you sell your item for at less than your costs plus the BLTC 15% commission, you’ll lose money.

Here’s a simple formula for calculating your break-even price, the price you have to sell your product for just to break even.

BEP = Cost + .15 x BEP
(Cost is the total cost of your item, as determined by adding up the cost of the mats needed to craft the item. BEP is the break-even price. You have to set a price higher than the BEP to make a profit.)

Skipping a little math,
BEP = 1.18 x Cost

All you need to know is if you list your product for 1.18 times the cost of your product you’ll at least break even. Anything more is profit.