Recently, I’ve been spending more time on Ultimate Team.  I’d already built up a good squad but it was lacking in certain areas especially against some of the monster teams that some players have managed to put together.

There’s a lot of information out there about making coins but I’ll share with you my experience – a personally tried and tested method that I know works!

Time to Hit the Transfer Market!

My team’s predominantly Spanish from Lige BBVA so after having a look around I decided I quite fancied Xavi to sit in the hole behing my strikers.  (Well, I actually fancied Iniesta but he was a bit out of my price range…).  I searched the transfer list and came across Xavi after Xavi all priced in the 56,000 to 60,000 coin range.  (I’m using Xbox prices, PS3 prices may vary but the principals are still the same).

Eventually I spotted a Xavi on the transfer market for 54,000 coins.  After seeing all those Xavi’s up for sale for 60,000 coins I thought i’ll snap up this bobby dazzler quick! So I put in a bid.

After contract talks and a quick medical I managed to land my new signing for a measly 54,500 coins.  Cheap as chips!  Reflecting on my acquisition my entrepreneurial side took over and I thought.  “Hang on, there’s a quick buck to be made here with my new bargain!”  Thinking back at all of the other Xavi’s I’d seen on the transfer market for around the late 50K – early 60K mark I put Xavi up for sale for a middle of the range 58,000 coins and sat back for an hour and waited for my 3,500 coin profit to roll in.

An hour went by and no bids.  Must have been a bad time of the day for transfers so I put it up again for the same price – still coming in on the lower end of the scale when looking at competitors’ prices.  Still nothing!  A couple more tries including peak times and it slowly dawned on me that I’d made a big mistake.  My FIFA11 Ultimate Team coin making strategy was seriously flawed…

“it slowly dawned on me that I’d made a big mistake.”

Where my FIFA11 Ultimate Team Coin Making Strategy was going wrong

The flaw in my theory for making coins in FIFA11 Ultimate Team was that I was looking at what players where up for sale for and not how much they were actually selling for!  Yes, there were hundreds of Xavi’s up for sale for around 58 -60K coins but none of them were actually selling.  I’d neglected to check this when I first started out, to be honest, it hadn’t even crossed my mind.  So when I put my Xavi up for 58K it just sat on the shelf with the rest of them.

How to Make Coins in FIFA11 Ultimate Team

I was determined to learn from my mistake and put it right.  I decided to cut my losses, recoup as many of my coins as I could and armed with my new knowledge plough them back into my new coin making strategy.

I slowly lowered the price of my Xavi and added countless Xavi’s to my watch list to find out which ones sold and for how much.  Eventually I found the true worth of Xavi; apparently it’s around the 51,000 coin mark.  (That is the highest price that I could guarantee a sale).

I took my 51,000 coins taking my 3,500 coin loss on the chin and looked again for a bargain to sell on and make some coins.  Where else better to look than for another Xavi!?!?  After all, with all of the research I’d already done, I was a veritable expert!  I knew from the 45 Xavi’s on my watch list and from my own experience that Xavi will almost always sell for 51,000 coins.

Now I just needed to buy one cheap enough to turn a profit.

I bided my time and eventually managed to pick up my second Xavi for 44,000 coins!  It was about 3am and obviously not much bidding competition around.  This was great!  7,000 coins here I come!

A good tip is to look at players with a bit of time left and be the first to bid.  Don’t just bid the minimum though. Always bid a bit higher (for example if the starting bid is 43,000 then bid 43,500).  This will give people the impression that there have been a few bids on the player and people are less likely to join the bidding war if they think there’s a few people involved already.  Just don’t bid too low that other people can’t resist to get in on the action.

Squeeze Out Even More Coins!

Another important thing I noticed from my original research is that people do not like to lose!  I used this to my advantage.  If I just put Xavi up for sale for the going rate 51,000 I’d get one bid.  After that bid, no-one else would be interested.  My Xavi would get overlooked and not end up on anyone’s watch list.  Because I’d bought my Xavi so cheap I had enough margin to start the bidding a few thousand below the going rate.  This meant that that it could receive a fair few bids and still remain competitive therefore ending up on a fair few watch lists.

If you want to sell your player for an inflated price then it’s important to get a few people interested.  Once they place a bid you’ll find that a lot of people become mentally committed.  People will often bid over the odds in a bidding war because they don’t want to “lose” to the other bidder.  People hate to see someone else win “their” bargain.  Good old bravado hey, if you’re a seller take advantage of it!

Be careful of this when you’re bidding too. Remember – the important thing isn’t getting one over on the people you’re bidding against – it’s about buying a player at a discounted price. Stay focused!

Summary – How to Make Coins in Ultimate Team

When Buying

• Do your research! Always find out what a player sells for – not what everyone is listing at.
• Try to go for popular players.
• Decide the maximum price you want to buy for to make sure that you can list under the going rate and still turn a profit.
• Look at auctions with more time left for bargains and get in on the bidding first.
• Bid a bit more than the minimum and don’t leave the price too low. (Remember, you’re trying to create the impression that there’s already a few people interested to put people off).
• Try looking off peak times (some great bargains to be had in the middle of the night if you haven’t got to get up in the morning!)
• Be patient and stick to your guns – remember why you’re bidding and don’t get dragged into bidding wars.

When Selling

• List your player a bit below the going rate.  You want to hook a few people into a bidding war.
• Never list for below what you are prepared to accept though – there’s always the chance that your player will go for the minimum.
• Sell at peak times – the more people that are looking the more chance you’ve got of finding a buyer.
• Weigh up the risks – the more expensive a player is the more you stand to gain.  Just remember that you could lose more if you get it wrong…

The jury’s still out on whether or not to use Buy It Now. It’s a difficult call. Get it wrong and you’re putting a cap on what you could earn – Get it right and you could tempt people out of a bidding war by spending some extra coins. What do you think?

Let me know if you snap up a bargain or make a huge profit on a player!