There are a few variables in this complex tactic- how much higher than fair market you are going to set your price is the most important one. If you go too high, your risk increases in multiple ways: firstly, people will be more likely to notice and get pissed off. Secondly, if there’s a concerted effort to break you, it will be easier and will do more damage.

The common way to break someone trying to monopolize something is to get your hands on a bunch of the stuff they are trying to fix prices for, and undercut them by about 10%-25% or so while flooding the market. This will either force them to lower their prices (and possibly cancel auctions at the old higher rate), or will force them to buy you out and relist at the fixed price. Either way, the people trying to break the price fix can cost the fixer as much gold as they have stock. If you’re up against a t6 guild while trying to fix the market on raid consumables they need, it’s safe to assume they have deeper pockets and more production capability than you.

Ensure you have enough depth in your horde of gold to stay the course, and try to avoid being obvious and seen as greedy. For example, get a bunch of your guild mates to help by posting items with their bank alts. Set the price maybe 25-40% higher, but not so much that it becomes unaffordable for the regular buyers. It has to be annoying to make you money, but it can’t be so annoying that a player is willing to take time out of their schedule to do something about it. Bear in mind- the process of breaking a monopolist actually makes you money. If you ever see someone fixing prices and you can get your hands on the item they are doing, you can make money from them just by listing a little lower. More often than not, they will buy you out.

As a price fixer, a low “monopoly premium” will make it harder for your opponents to cost you money. If they undercut enough to force you to buy their stock, you won’t be spending much more than you normally do in the AH, so you won’t have as much of a loss if you’re forced to stop or you still have stock left when the buyers are done.

Although I am bored of it now I still do a quick wool cloth scan and buy up anything < 9 silver/cloth then resell at 50s/5 stack. I also still have a toon with bank and bags full of wool - hehe!

Since 2.4 the demand has even risen to 75s/5 stack for some reason

I have seen others, especially in the past on Medivh server corner the Wool market. It was scary the prices wool was selling for. In that moment, you can make a good living just farming wool.

There have been many times when I’ve seen an extreme shortage of a certain item, and that’s the time to strike. This is another reason I make it a policy to ONLY sell into a strong market. Prices in WoW fluctuate all the time, so just be patient and wait for the time best for you.

Now on the other hand… don’t keep TOO much inventory. I still have 15 mooncloth I’ll be lucky to EVER get rid of, for any price. There’s just no market for it anymore.

If you use auctioneer (and you should if you are playing the AH mini-game), you should only be selling when the competing bids are yellow (or, preferably, red).

You only want to dump inventory when there’s no reasonable expectation that it will sell for higher. For example, this weekend I was selling some lesser essences in the green region, because the price differential wasn’t all that much between the high and low end.

But, IMO, don’t let the price of greater essence scare you off gouging on lesser: most buyers don’t realize (or care?) that greater = 3 lesser.

Anyway, when I see an item not being sold at all in the AH, that’s when it’s time for insane price gouging. Like selling light leather for 4g a stack, or something. I’ve also made a killing on copper ore this way. You just have to check somethings and be creative.

But obviously, you have to temper yourself with reality. Nobody is going to pay 30g for Peacebloom.

There are several things you need to look at prior to diving into these shark infested waters.

1. Commodity turnover -

This is a key item in market control.
It does no good to control a market where the demand is maybe 1 or 2 items a day. It also doesn’t pay to control a market where everyone and their brother is putting stuff up.

The main markets I watch are the mote/primal market and high end ore/bar market.

The Motes/Primal market is an easy one to watch and manipulate. Scan the AH for Primals first & see what they’re selling for.

Ex. Primal Air - 1 listed for 20g, a couple more up in the 25g range, etc.

Then check motes. Buy up any mote of air under 2g40s, go back & buy that one 20g air. Hit the mailbox, pick em up, combine the motes to a primal & go relist at 24g.

You don’t want to overinflate your price to the point where someone would rather farm it or wait for someone else to list to get it cheaper.