Auction House Analysis - A look at gem sniping

What is gem sniping?
Gem sniping is where one bids at the last minute on an item+gem(s) that has a minimum bid less than the value of the gem(s). Ideally, one wants to acquire the gem(s) for substantially less than the what the gem(s) are worth.

How do I gem snipe?
The easiest way to find items to snipe is to go into the Auction House and search for equipment>armor>all armor types>has sockets and then sort by time left. One should be able to search through 46 pages of results in under five minutes and expect to find at least one item+gem worth sniping. Once one has found an item worth sniping, filter the results until that item is showing up on the first page. Then, check back when the item gets to two minutes and then constantly refresh the results until the time left shows >1M. At this point, one wants to start a chronograph on their phone. When the chronograph gets to 45-50 seconds, one bids the amount the gem(s) is worth in the last ten trades subtracted by 15%.

Items Acquired+Prices Paid:
Imgur Gallery of Items+Prices Paid
Imgur Gallery of a few of the Items stuck in AH Limbo

Results: (not including items that are still stuck in AH limbo)

• Time Taken: 120 minutes
• Items Acquired: 13
• Gold Spent: 2,480,675
• Value of Gems(last ten trades price): 5,522,476
• Value of Gems(-15%): 4,694,105
• Value of Items(vendor value): 20,067
• Profit: 2,233,497 (Closer to 3M if items weren't stuck in AH limbo)
• Profit Per Minute: 18,612

Conclusion:

• Gem sniping is not more profitable than farming/paragon leveling in the long run.
• Gem sniping may become more profitable at a time when more inexperienced players are playing again, eg. 1.07 release, expansion release, etc.
• Gem sniping is stupid easy, requires little attention, and gives break periods during sessions.
• Gem sniping, unlike brimstone legendaries, is not a bot target.

Posted in: Auction house, gold making