Diablo 3 RMAH Flipping Formula Basics

Buy Low - Sell High

Flipping For Profit In Diablo 3

When it comes to turning a profit on the dual auction houses in Diablo 3, there are a variety of basic tactics for making gold and real money profits.  One of the main tactics for turning a profit is through "Flipping". 

Flipping is the basic term used for the process of buying something at one price and selling it at a higher price, which results in a profit for the seller.

Flipping should not be confused with increasing an item's value.  A true flip uses the exact same item, in the exact same condition, without any improvements.  The item just gets flipped for a higher price tag.  Don't get it confused with flipping in the housing market, as often times those homes are fixed up before being resold.  Which means they were bought and then improved upon to get a higher value and selling price, so they aren't a true flip.

An example of Diablo 3 flipping would be buying an amulet off of the in game vendor to sell for a profit on the auction house, like I discuss in the post: Making Diablo 3 Gold With Amulets.

An example of improving an item's value in Diablo 3 would be buying an item with a poorly chosen gem and then replacing it with a more appropriate gem, like Adam discusses in his post: Swapping Gems For Profit. 

The Diablo 3 Basic Flipping Formula For The Gold Auction House

Anytime you are wanting to flip an item for profit, you need to be fully aware of the transaction fees associated with auction house sales.  While the cut that Blizzard rakes off of every auction house transaction is pretty steep, there still are profits to be made in both the Gold Auction House (GAH) and the Real Money Auction House (RMAH).  You must incorporate the fees into your prices or you could be losing money, when you expected to gain.


The Gold Auction House Rakes 15% of Your Final Sale Price

So when you buy an item to flip, you need to account for that 15% fee that gets rake off the top.

Cost / .85 = New Break Even Sale Price

So if you buy an item for 6,000 gold, you need to sell it for 7,059 gold just to break even.  If you flipped that 6,000 gold item for 7,000 gold, then you would actually be losing gold and would net 5,950 gold after Blizzard gets their fee.  Ex: 7000g sale - 1050g fee (15%) = 5950 Gold Net

NOTE:  Don't assume you can just multiple Cost x1.15 to get the correct sale price.  You must divide by 0.85 to get an accurate answer.


When using the RMAH, you have to account for two 15% fees for commodities and $1 +15% fees for equipment sales.  This means it is easier to focus on moving items you purchase with gold into RMAH sale, and focusing on equipment sales results in the lowest transaction fees.



Zygor Guides & Diablo 3 Billionaire
**Diablo 3 Secrets**

The Diablo 3 AH & RMAH Fees Are Revealed And They Suck!

The Diablo 3 AH Fees Are Official

The fee schedule for both Diablo 3 auction houses has finally been released to the public.  The Real Money Auction House (RMAH) and the Gold Based Auction House both have seperate fee schedules.  You can read the Official Diablo 3 Blizzard Auction House Guide and The Official Battlenet Diablo 3 Auction House FAQ for all the details.  I've been anxiously awaiting the release of this Diablo 3 auction house fee information, but I am highly discouraged with the outrageous fee schedule they have decided upon at Blizzard Entertainment. 

Blizzard - The Diablo 3 Black Market Thanks You

With AH Fee cuts this high, you can bet your ass that the Black Market for Diablo 3 items and gold will once again be very active.  One of the goals / benefits of creating the in game RMAH in Diablo 3 was to combat the rampant use of Black Market sites and vendors for buying gold, gear, runes, and commodities.  With the crazy high cost of doing RMAH business for a profit, many will turn again to selling on the Black Market to make more money.  Why help Blizzard out, when they are robbing you of your profits?!?  Taking nearly 30% of the cut is highway robbery and if that amount isn't lowered, then the Black Market will be the place to buy and sell Diablo 3 gold and commodities.

Blizzard's Diablo 3 Fee Schedule

RMAH Items are divided into 2 main groups: 

1. Equipment (Gear and Weapons)
2. Commodities (Gold, Crafting Materials, Gems, etc)

The good news is that there is no fee to list items on either auction house.  Blizzard will however be taking a cut when your items sell and if you choose to cash out to your Paypal account, Blizzard will take another cut.  The fees on the gold based auction house (GAH) are a flat 15% fee for sold items regardless of what type of items they are.

RMAH Sold Item Fees

• Equipment - Final Sale Fee $1 per item.
• Commodities - A Flat 15% of the sale price.

Transfer to Paypal Fee (Cashing Out)

• A flat 15% cut goes back to Blizzard when you opt to cash out.
• Another Paypal fee to receive the payment may apply as well.

So if you choose to sell a $10 sword on the RMAH, then the fees would look like this.

• $10 Sold Item Price
• Blizzard takes $1 since it is equipment.
• $9 goes to your Blizzard Bucks account or your Cash Out account.
• When you do cash out, that $9 would cash out for $7.65 since Blizzard takes 15% as a Cash Out Fee.
• So $10 earned you $7.65 in US Dollars.

Let's same you sold $10 in gold pieces, then the fees would look like:

• $10 Sold Item Price
• Blizzard takes 15%, leaving you $8.50.
• $8.50 goes to your Blizzard Battle Bucks account or your Cash Out Account.
• When you cash out, Blizzard taxes you another 15% of the value, so you cash out for $7.22.
• So you earned $7.22 in US Dollars.

The higher the sale price of the items, the more of a discrepancy will exist between selling equipment and selling commodities.  A $50 equipment sale would net you $41.65, while a $50 commodity sale would earn you only $36.12. 

I bet the black market service providers won't be charging anywhere near that high for their sales fees.  We shall wait and see if Blizzard really did win the war against the black market sellers.