Should I sell my magic items, or salvage them?
So far (I just started Act 2), grey items sell for almost nothing: usually 3-6 gold pieces.
Magic items can sell for considerably more at this level. 150 gold may not seem like a lot in the big scheme of things, but it is much better than 3-6 gold!
However, I've been salvaging everything magical instead of selling it. Is this a mistake? So far I've level my blacksmith to the point where most of what he makes is powerful enough that I have to gain several levels before I can even use it. I also have a lot of subtle essences and a decent supply of of fallen teeth.
Am I better off selling some of my magic items, instead of salvaging everything? Is there a specific vendor-price I should use as a guideline (i.e. "everything that sells for more than x gold should be vendored")?
Watch the auction house.
Right now, crafting materials are selling for substantially less gold than all but the worst low level blue items. You'll get far better results selling your blue items and buying Essences from the AH.
For example, current market value for normal mode mats is 20g for Subtle Essence and 45g for Fallen Teeth. So any item worth more than 25g, I sell. If its worth less than 25, I gamble for a shot at a tooth.
Lets split this.
What can I do with an magic item?
- Sell in the NPC
- Savage into material
- Trade with a friend
- Sell it on AH
Now lets see what are the pros and cons about it.
Sell a magic item in the NPC
Magic items worth more gold in the NPC that the normal items, if you want to farm some gold with low level items, you can go for it.
Savage into material
Savaging you will get craft-materials, where you can create a better item for you. Also the craft-material is marketable in the AH, so depending on the item (and a little of your luck), you can get more gold by selling the craft-material instead of the item on a NPC.
Trade with a friend
You can link a item by open the chat, holding shift and left-click in the item. So you can show for your friends. Maybe one of them want it, and have something you want too. Easy trade, win-win, friendly...
Sell it on AH
As always, you need some luck on AH and judgment. You can make a little fortune with just one item, but you can also use lots of items to achieve that. Check AH to see what's going on there, what're the Most Valuable Item, what people are looking for. With this, you can make good money.
Now, with all that said, I advise you this.
Check AH and RMAH, see if the need more the item or more the craft-material. If none are good, check if you need some craft-item. If not, check with your friends if they have something to trade. And by last sell it on NPC.