If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, I mean buy wow account. If you have any intention of doing so you’ll really want to get it done well before Cataclysm drops. I say this for a number of reasons.

First and foremost prices always go nuts around release dates. While we don’t yet know when the big C is coming out, we know it can’t be too far off. They’ve already been beta testing and we’ve seen the box art. Not much other than the actual content remains to be announced. This is what Blizzcon will be all about this year. SC 2 is already on shelves (or was anyway, seeing as it took almost a week before the local stores were able to restock) and Diablo III is so far into the future it is only barely on my radar. That means they’re going to focus very closely on WoW, which makes me really pleased. But after it’s announced you know that prices for accounts will start to spike pretty sharply around that time. It’s better to get one (or 3 if you’re smart and take Toonstorm’s deal where you get discounts for alts) now while prices are still low to moderate. Just before and after relase date things will get ugly.

Flip side to that is that the new races won’t be represented on any site for a while after release. Your other option is to buy wow account after you start seeing them show up.

Or really you could do both so you can take advantage of the new content while later enjoying the goodies that the new races bring to the table.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Blizzard doesn’t much like anyone making money on WoW that isn’t Blizzard. They may decide to put in a few little tweaks that allow them to hunt down anyone who buys an account. While I can’t off the top of my head think of a way to do this, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

Most of the time I’m not worried about this. As long as I’m buying from a well established site that comes with all sorts of guarantees I can’t imagine anything happening. Those jokers on Craigslist and eBay are another matter entirely. They’re probably licking their chops about this right now, but don’t be pulled into their promises. It just isn’t worth the risk.