Preliminary Caged Battle Pet Pricing Data

That's a great list Jim, I'll be on the lookout for some bargains.

I guess it's not surprising to find the phoenix hatchling so low. I assume I'm not the only person that had one on most alts before the change.

I find posting pets a complete pain, so just haven't gotten into the market at all yet... Not even to unload my own excess pets. What process do you use to sell pets?

It's nice to see additional data, instead of just my own. I use The Undermine Journal frequently, but like you said... there are no numbers for battle pets yet. The lack of information out there is actually what really interests me. Very few people are willing to spend the time and really get down to the nitty gritty and work for their data.

Websites with massive records to thumb through are great, but the idea that every person out there has the same information makes things less exciting. Addons like NPCScanner that mark every existing rare spawn with alerts really takes away from the true rarity of the mobs. I remember when I was playing beta 8 years ago and would come across a silver elite framed mob. That really got me excited.

Don't get me wrong, I love NPCScanner and I use it all the time, but there's just something about the unknown that's exciting, whether it's a new expansion or just a version update. It's the same unknown feeling I get when I open a chest or kill a NPC that has a chance to drop something rare.

That excitement brings me back to my younger years when I collected X-Men cards, haha. I would ask my parents to shell out $200 for a big box as my only gift at Christmas. I would slowly open each packet wondering if I would get a "special" card and if I did, would it be the one I needed to finish the 3x3 holographic card scene?

I suppose this is part of what may be driving you to gather this data too. It may or may not be persistently/consistently profitable down the road, but the excitement of being one of the first to enter this market makes the risk worth it to me. It reminds me of the speculation for the 4.3 transmog market. No one knew for sure if and how profitable it would be. I remember buying up Teebu's Blazing Longsword every time I saw them on Illidan's AH for under 50k. 4.3 hit and those flipped for 150-200k in no time. It was a risk that paid off.

I appreciate you taking the time to really investigate this market. I know one thing for sure, though. The players that can afford these battle pets at premium prices are also the players with alts with no need to buy a battle pet more than once. I think what will actually end up killing this market is the same thing that has created it: the first and only true cross-realm market. Once the market grows, people will catch on fast on how to find pets cheaper on other realms. All they have to do is find someone on a different realm to trade a small amount of gold with. Both players then have access to multiple auction houses and can shop around throughout the entire would as opposed to just their own realm. I guess what I'm trying to say is, this market will probably be similar to the .COM bubble. The whole idea that made it big and profitable is what ultimately killed it.

wowTrader Pets For Sale Analysis might help some people