Friday, December 7, 2012

The Diablo 3 Limited Edition Collectible Diablo Statue



Diablo Statue - Diablo III

The Official Diablo 3 Diablo Statue From Sideshow Collectibles

Sideshow Collectibles has just released the pre-order information for the brand new Diablo III statue of the demon lord himself, Diablo.  Created with Blizzard Entertianment liscensing from their popular action RPG Diablo III.  The Blizzard Cinematics Team worked alongside the Sideshow Design and Development Team to bring the high evil's chosen form to life, in high quality polystone.  This Diablo 3 Statue is over 20" tall, hand painted and finished with super high quality attention to detail.

Posses it now, before it posses you!

Artists:
  • Brian Fay (Sculpt)
  • Dave Cortes (Sculpt)
  • Blizzard Cinematics Team (Sculpt)
  • Nick Carpenter (Creative Direction)
  • Tom Gilliland (Creative Direction)
  • Anthony Mestas (Paint)
  • Rick Cantu (Paint)
Manufactured by: Sideshow Collectibles

Check It Out Now:
Diablo III Diablo Statue - Diablo III


DIABLO 3 LIMITED EDITION STATUE DIABLO III
DIABLO 3 COLLECTIBLE STATUE


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Zygor Guides & Diablo 3 Billionaire
**The Only Diablo III Guides You Can Trust**

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Diablo 3 Real Money Auction House Taxation - An International Approach

DIABLO 3 AND REAL MONEY AUCTION HOUSE TAXES

Today we have a Guest Post from Nev of AHAddict.blogspot.com, who has been dealing with these types of online income sources for a while now.  She offers a great inside perspective of the issues facing online profiteers with an international twist.

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Alto did a post recently about having to pay tax on your Diablo3 Real Money Auction House earnings which didn't surprise me. It's something I have been wondering about myself, even though I don't play Diablo3!
Now before I go any further, I am NOT a taxation advisor of any description, I am merely here to tell you how I, as a British taxpayer, got involved with the US Internal Revenue Service a few years ago & how my experience may give some idea how they will tax your RMAH earnings.
For me it all started back in 2006, I signed up with the then new microstock companies. These are crowd sourced image agencies selling photographs & illustrations from 1000's of artists for just a few dollars each. Most of these companies like iStockphoto & Shutterstock are US based but initially, contributors were receiving their earnings via Paypal without reference to where they lived & that was it.
Roll forward a couple of years & I received an email telling me that they would be witholding 30% of my earnings unless I filled in the relevant US tax forms. That sounded fairly simple but the W8-BEN form requests a US Social Security Number or a US Tax Identification Number. As a British taxpayer, I obviously didn't have either of these numbers so that's when it got panicky! But not just for me - almost every contributor to these microstock agencies, based outside the USA, didn't have these ID numbers & no idea how to get one.
Many countries around the world have a tax treaty with the US which in essence, prevents a person having to pay tax in 2 countries. With a SSN or TIN, I wouldn't have to pay the US tax as I was already declaring my earnings here in the UK. After many many forum posts across these multiple agencies, it was discovered that actually, we didn't need a SSN or a TIN, we could just fill in the form as directed by the agency with reference to the relevant tax treaty sub section (royalties in our case) & that was all that was required.
But it took maybe 3 months or more for that information to filter down & across all the sites. In the meantime, some of the larger contributors had paid experts to file relevant documentation to get their TIN. This was an expensive process including fees & visits to the US Embassy in their respective countries & for smaller contributors like myself, it was prohibitively expensive for the cash I was earning.
Since then, Zazzle, Cafepress & Clickbank have also requested these forms from me so I have to assume that the IRS has been looking at these internet based, crowd sourced content sites to make sure they are reporting earnings correctly.
So how does this affect Diablo3 players? Well, my personal thoughts are that taxes are everywhere & if people are earning real life cash in any way, the tax authorities want their slice of the pie. I believe Blizzard has a disclaimer when you start using the RMAH that it is your responsibility to declare your earnings correctly to your own tax authorities, but I'm not sure that will be adequate to satisfy the US Internal Revenue Service.
I think the IRS will want Blizzard to manage & account for everything they pay out to Paypal accounts across the world & we will see Blizzard having to implement a similar system to the Microstock companies. However, if Blizzard hit the same wall of confusing tax laws, there could be very mixed messages being sent out & many lost, angry & confused players around the world.
I'm here to say Don't Panic! It's really not that bad or difficult to sort out. I've included links to the IRS forms that overseas indviduals will need to fill out. All Blizzard will have to do is request your payment details & ask you to electronically submit the W8-BEN. Hopefully Blizzard will give clear instructions on how to fill out the form but the most important part will be the detail of the relevant section of the Tax Treaty. Unfortunately, I have no idea how the IRS will categorise RMAH earnings so I can't help you there!
So that's my experience with the US taxation authorities. It was very confusing at first but soon resolved into a simple electronic form filling & submission. I hope, if Blizzard does have to follow along similar lines, that there is enough experience out there now for them to be able to make it easy from the start. It's in Blizzard's own interest to keep it as simple as possible after all - they take a cut of all RMAH fees so they will want people to keep using it!


Thanks Nev, for the great insight into your experiences with making profits internationally online from a variety of sources.  I too believe that Blizzard won't be able to keep their "hands off" approach forever.  Currently, Blizzard doesn't require our SSN or TIN and neither does Paypal, so technically profits on the RMAH are "off the grid" (yet they are still required to be reported).  Another confusing bit for some is the myth that you need to make $600 from Diablo 3 to be required to report it in the United States.  No, if you make over $600 total from all sources it has to be reported.  It's not $600 per source.

I hope that behind closed doors, Blizzard isn't giving us the whole story and the reason the RMAH auction house fees are so outrageous is because they are paying our end of the tax within those crazy fees.  Doubt it, but would be nice.  Otherwise it would be very disheartening for those players profitting off of Diablo 3 as earnings of this type would be taxed at the self-employment rate, just like earnings on a US Form 1099.  Self employment tax rates are higher than normal because you have to cover the portion of the taxes that the employer would have covered as well.

Definately keep an eye out for tax information from Blizzard on D3 sources and other online virtual markets that lead players to real world profits.



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Friday, July 6, 2012

Diablo 3 RMAH Flipping Formula Basics

Diablo 3 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**

Thursday, July 5, 2012

What Is Nephalem Valor Buff In Diablo 3?

What Is The Nephalem Valor Buff In Diablo 3?

It's no Diablo 3 Gold Secret that the Nephalem Valor Buff makes farming for gold and items much easier and more profitable.  Stacking your Nephalem Valor Buff to 5 stacks is highly recommended when farming for gold and items.  So what is Nephalem Valor (commonly seen as NV)?

Nephalem Valor




  • Only earned once character level 60.
  • Gain 1 stack of Nephalem Valor per Elite, Rare, or Champion mob pack killed.
  • Max stacks allowed is 5.
  • Each stacks provides +15% Magic Find & +15% Gold Find.
  • Can gain total +75% Magic Find & Gold Find with full 5 stacks of Nephalem Valor.
  • 30 Min buff duration, but refreshed with new Rare, Elite, or Champion mob pack kill.
  • Leaving game or changing skills removes all Nephalem Valor.




  • Even a brand new level 60 Diablo 3 character with no good gold or magic item farming gear will see a huge benefit from the Nephalem Valor buff.  The buff to magic and gold find is additive, not multiplicative.  So while the Nephalem Valor buff will stack with the Fortune Shrine and other buffs, Magic Find on your gear, or extra Magic Find from your choice of gems for your helm, you simply add the 15-75% buff to your current magic find.


    Preventing Accidental Loss Of Nephalem Valor Buffs

    It is important to note that you will lose all buffs if you leave the game, but you also lose all Nephalem Valor if you change your skills around.  So if you need a specific skill set to beat your desired boss target, you must farm your stacks of Nephelam Valor in that same skill set up.

    Some players have been complaining about accidentally moving skills around on the skill bar in elective mode with a misplaced mouse click, thus resulting in a loss of all stacks of the NV buff.  A simple fix to prevent this is to turn off Elective Mode once you have your chosen skill set up completed.  This prevents you from being able to accidentally move the skills around on your Diablo 3 character toolbar.

    Get A Quick 5 Stack NV Buff In Act I of Diablo 3

    Here's a quick and profitable route to a quick 5 Stack of the Diablo 3 Nephalem Valor Buff.

    • Take waypoint to Cemetary of the Forsaken
    • If Elite spawned kill, if not: Enter Crypts.
    • Clear each crypt until you get your 5 NV stacks.
    • Teleport to town and use waypoint to get back for each crypt.
    Then once you have your full 5 NV stacks, you can head on to kill the Skeleton King, the Butcher, The Warden, or whoever else you are farming.



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

    Saturday, June 16, 2012

    Diablo 3 Fortune Shrine & Other Shrine Tips

    
    Shrines Are Great For Diablo 3 Farming
    Diablo 3 Shrines

    Shrine Buffs In Diablo 3 For Farming

    While wandering through the dungeons and wilderness areas of Diablo 3, you will encounter 4 types of shrines.  Each of the shrines in Diablo 3 offer a specific character buff that lasts for only two minutes, so you want to use each of the shrines wisely.  There are a total of 4 different shrines that can spawn anywhere in the game.  Of the 4 shrines there are 2 that give the better benefits to farming characters in Diablo 3.

    The 4 Diablo 3 Shrines and Effects

    1. Blessed Shrine - Damage taken is reduced by 25% for 2 minutes.
    2. Enlightened Shrine - Gives a 25% bonus to experience for 2 minutes.  NOTE: The Enlightened shrine stops spawning in games where all players and followers are maximum level.
    3. Fortune Shrine - Adds an extra 25% Magic Find and Gold Find for 2 minutes.
    4. Frenzied Shrine - Increases attack speed by 25% for 2 minutes.

     

    The Best Shrine Buffs For Farming

    Of the 4 various types of shrines in Diablo 3, two of them provide the best benefits for farming gold and items: the Fortune Shrine and the Frenzied Shrine.  The Enlightened Shrine is great for leveling characters, but provides no benefit for a Diablo 3 farming character.  Similarly, the Blessed Shrine will help reduce your damage taken and help you stay alive, but has no direct effect on your killing speed or the items that your creature kills will drop.  The 2 clear winners here for farming characters are the Fortune Shrine and the Frenzied Shrines. 

    The Fortune Shrine is an obvious boost to farming in Diablo 3 as you will get a 2 minute buff that increases the amount of gold you will find from all sources by 25% and the Fortune Shrine also increases your Magic Find skill by 25%.  This 25% buff is additive and not multiplicative, so if you have 150% magic find, the new total would be 175% with the Fortune Shrine buff.  It is not an extra 25 percent of your current magic find level. 

    The Frenzied Shrine also grants another great buff for farming in Diablo 3.  A 25% increased attack speed may even be the better buff between the Frenzied and Fortune Shrines.  While the +25% Magic Find and Gold Find increase is a nice buff, you probably will get better results from the 25% increased attack speed.  Getting a 25% attack speed buff, greatly increases your ability to quickly kill creatures and will help you rack up far more kills during the 2 minute duration of the buff.  this one is great against the Treasure Goblin Clan as well, and greatly increases the odds that you can kill them before they jump through their safety portal.

    Tips For Better Shrine Buff Use

    • The Shrines in Diablo 3 work during both solo and cooperative play sessions.  Be sure to notify your party members in co-op, when you find a shrine, because each character that is near the shrine will receive the buff.  Don't waste a shrine on just yourself in a co-op group.
    • Don't waste time looting until your buff is gone.  If you are looting during the buff's short 2 minute duration, then you aren't using the buff wisely.  Go back and loot everything once the duration of the shrine's buff expires.  Of course, if you have Demon Hunter ferrets, they will loot the gold for you.
    • You don't have to get the buff as soon as you find the shrine.  Wait until you find an area that is jam packed full of creatures, then grab the shrine's buff and get to killing.  The more creatures that are packed closer together, means more kills while under the duration of the buff.
    • If using the experience shrine buff or the magic / gold find buff, weaken all of the creatures with a AoE ability first.  Once most creatures are near death, then grab the shrine buff and finish them off.  This allows you to quickly gain the benefits from a large group of nearly dead creatures and increases the overall number of possible kills while under the buff's effects.
    • Don't waste the buffs on boss kills.  Most of the boss battles take a while to complete and odds are the buff will be gone long before the boss dies.  Worse yet, when your character dies, the buff is also removed.  So don't waste the shrine effects in areas where you are having trouble staying alive, unless it is the damage reduction shrine, which may just be the bonus damage prevention you need to get over the hump.

    Diablo 3 Gold Secrets

    Diablo Statue - Diablo III