ProspectProfit

ProspectProfit is a World of Warcraft addon that helps you decide whether prospecting ore is profitable by comparing live Auction House prices for ore and gems.

Features

• Scans current Auction House prices for supported ores and prospecting gems.
• Calculates the expected value of gems from prospecting.
• Compares the value of gems from 20 ore against the cost of a 20-ore stack.
• Shows a clear BUY or SKIP recommendation.
• Displays expected gem value, ore cost, and estimated profit or loss.
• Shows the calculation details for every possible gem.
• Finds profitable 20-ore stacks and supports confirmed buyouts.
• Rechecks listing prices before purchasing to help avoid stale listings.
• Caches recently scanned gem prices for faster scans.
• Stores price data separately by realm and faction.
• Provides an Auction House Prospect tab.
• Supports slash commands and key bindings.

How It Works

Each prospect uses 5 ore. ProspectProfit calculates the expected value of one prospect using:

Gem chance × current instant-buy price

The result is multiplied by four to estimate the value of gems produced from 20 ore. This value is then compared with the cheapest available instant-buy price for a stack of 20 ore.

A positive difference results in a BUY recommendation. Break-even and negative-profit opportunities are shown as SKIP.

Note: Profit estimates are based on expected gem value and do not include Auction House cuts, listing fees, or the time required to sell the gems.

Supported Ore

The addon includes Classic and Burning Crusade-era prospecting ores, including:

• Copper Ore
• Tin Ore
• Iron Ore
• Mithril Ore
• Thorium Ore
• Fel Iron Ore
• Adamantite Ore
• Khorium Ore

Usage

1. Talk to an Auctioneer and open the Auction House.
2. Open the Prospect tab.
3. Select an ore using the arrow buttons.
4. Click Scan Prices.
5. Review the recommendation and estimated profit.
6. If a profitable stack is available, click Buy 20 Ore and confirm the purchase.

The How? button displays the detailed expected-value calculation for the selected ore.

Slash Commands

• /prospect — Toggle the ProspectProfit window
• /prospect scan — Open the Prospect tab and scan prices
• /prospect next — Select the next ore
• /prospect prev — Select the previous ore

Key Bindings

The following actions can be assigned in the WoW key binding menu:

• Toggle window
• Previous ore
• Next ore
• Scan market
• Buyout stack

Important Notes

• Only instant-buy listings are used; bid-only listings are ignored.
• A live Auction House scan is required for current prices.
• Unlisted gems are reported and contribute no value to the estimate.
• ProspectProfit does not automatically prospect ore or sell gems.