F.A.Q. - Gold

The following is from the "Show me the Money - How To Make Gold" forum thread from the old web site started by Qwicksilver. The information about disenchanting things has changed a bit since Burning Crusade came out. A level 5 character can no longer disenchant everything with the new level requirements. Other than that, it is still good information on how to earn gold in WOW.

Qwicksilver:
I would love for everyone in our guild to have plenty of gold so they can get good things..... and because I absolutely hate begging!

I learned a lot about making gold as I leveled up my first character. When I started Qwicksilver I found it a lot easier than I had the first time. I was also able to send her items and money from my first high level character. That was nice but I kept thinking about how much I had learned and wondered how I would do starting out new without the support of a high-level alt.

Asp and I decided we would give it a try and started new characters on another server where we did not know anyone or have any alts. I had 200 gold by the time I was level 20, was carrying all 16 slot packs, had at least three 16 slot backpacks in the bank and had a blue item weapon with a +7 blue glow enchant.

Here is how I did it

1. Don't worry about the small stuff. When you are low level everything is small stuff. When you start your first character small stuff seems big but it really isn't. I dropped gray items from the beginning area if my backpack got full and concentrated on doing the quests and leveling. None of it is worth the time you spend trying to run back and sell. Use the time to level. Do that until at least level 8 - 10 or maybe even 18 - 20. NOTE: later on you do not want to drop many gray items. That gray sword you got in Zul'Farrak will sell to a vendor for over a gold. (Gray items are items whose name is in gray instead of white, green or blue, etc.)
2. Start a bank character. Start a character and run them to the nearest auction house/bank/mailbox area. You don't need to level them or do any quests. A level 1 is fine for a bank character. This character's job is to look in the Auction House for good buys and to sell your stuff for as much as possible. You send any good item you get to this character to sell for you. The cost of postage is worth the time you save not running back and forth to sell. For example a stack of 20 linen cloth may sell for 20 - 40 silver or even higher in the AH. A stack of 20 swiftthistle may sell for 5 - 8 g or more in the AH. Spend some time looking at the things you can get to sell and compare prices to similar items. Many green items sell for a lot more than the vender will give you and many do not sell well at all. You have to do some experimenting here.
3. Buy the biggest bags you can afford as soon as you can afford them. This is where your bank character can help. Look for bags in the Auction House. Having bigger bags saves a lot of time running to sell. It also keeps you from having to decide if you want to drop a gray item or run sell. It is good to drop lower level items but you don't want to do that later on as they may be worth as much as green items to a vender. The more you can sell the more gold you can earn.
4. When you can, buy cheap and sell high. As you level up you will learn what items sell better because people need them for quests. Keep these things in mind when you put stuff in the AH. There are some things that you may get as a drop as level 10 that sell for many gold. An example of this is the formula for Swiftness Potion. (If you get one of these just send it to me). If you are not sure of the value of an item look it up on Allakhazam or ask someone you can trust.
5. Learn what you can farm quickly and easily for gold. A level 7 can make several gold in a short time selling copper bars in the AH. A level 10 or 12 can sell small eggs or light feathers in the AH. A level 60 can make a lot selling gray item drops from the birds in Deadwind Pass. As a general rule you will make a lot more with gathering professions than with producing professions. For example, you can usually sell the ingredients to make a potion or leather item for more than the potion or item itself.
6. Don't spend a lot buying new armor every level. Buy nice things from the AH occasionally but not too often. Usually you will be getting something better soon anyway.

Qwicksilver is completely correct that you don't need to play your bank character to make tons of money with them. There is an option that should be mentioned here though. If you play your bank character long enough to get them to level 5, you can pick up enchanting as a profession for them. Enchanting itself will probably not make you any money until you reach near 300 skill level. However, you can make money disenchanting items and selling the enchanting materials that come from them.

Enchant ingredients often do not sell for as much as the item itself will. You probably want to limit the items you disenchant to those which fall into one or more of the following categories:

1. There's already a ton of that particular item in the AH.
2. Items that you have made with your "producing profession" to level up (e.g. leather working, black smithing, etc.). Often these will not sell.
3. Items with "less desireable" stats on them. For example, I have found that items that are heavy in the Spirit statistic do not move as well.
4. Occasionally, you come across an item that seems good; but, just won't sell.
5. You have checked what the vendor will give you for the item, and the materials you are likely to get will probably bring more than the item will.

Occasionally, you get lucky and get a shard from a "green" item. These can almost always be sold for a good deal more than the item itself.

One other thing that should be noted here about enchanting materials, there is no deposit associated with selling enchant mat's in the AH - unlike that "good item that should but doesn't sell." You can stick them in over-and-over for as much as you like and never pay a copper for a deposit fee.

Birchleaf:
Very good point about the bank character learning enchanting. I have had a bank character for a long time but never thought about that angle. Thanks!

Firefrost:
Quick question, what do you think of trades? After doing a trade in tribal leatherworking to 300 skill it feels to me as it was a huge money sink, sure I was able to make nice things for myself and friends but at level 60 it feels pretty useless.

The worst part of the trade was to make items you could wear at your level you need to get ingrdients from things that are 6 to 10 levels higher which than forces you to buy them.

So at level 60 I have have a good trade under my belt but only 109 gold in my bag , Would it have been better to have farmed with skinning and herbs? I realise that if everyone farmed than there would be no market for any materials mmmmm. So, what do you think, takeing a trade, is it worth it?

Nony:
I am a skinner-leatherworker myself, and so far I have made a fair amount off of it.You could probably make more selling leather than the items, but I am not sure. If you do not do anything with the skill you have, it might be time to change them. Herbalism is a good money-maker, as is mining. If all you do with leatherworking is supply yourself and a few friends, it is probably not worth the time and effort it takes to get everything. I supply everyone in the guild who needs things and sell items or gve them out randomly as well. Giving out items does not usually gain much in the way of coin, but it does occasionally get you a new friend or donations.

Asp:
I too was a skinner / elemental leather worker but dropped the leather working to take up mining. I will have to say, in my opinion, this was a much better option. The only thing I miss about it is not having the ability to make cool stuff for friends / guild mates. Honestly though, generally speaking it seems drops are usually better than most things you can make anyhow. I believe you are better off to concentrate on gathering and selling what you gather. Then you can afford to buy what you want from the AH and still usually have more money than you would by supporting a "producing" profession. Anything that you could have produced, you can usually buy from someone else who is willing to give you a cut-rate so they can level up (and who are also competing with all the other guys trying to level up). I did it to save up for an epic mount as well. I may possibly drop skinning at some point to take up engineering; but, only because this offers options that I would not otherwise be able to employ with my character.

Battlebrat:
After I read Qwicks post on creating a character I decided to make one. It made life so much easier. Anything I didnt need or want I sent in the mail to the "bank" character. I would either sell to vendor, or put on AH. Within a 2 weeks I alreayd had 200g! And the time saved from not always running to AH to put items up for sale was huge. This helps to keep space free in bags and save times.

Nony:
The only problem with that is when you have 3 playing characters and only 2 banks, and when the banks hold alot of stuff for the guildies once they can use them. I have all sorts of patterns and recipies that are hard to get when you want them (and easy when you do not). My other bank has 1500+ snowballs, so if anyone wants to have a snowball fight in gadgit in July let me know. Anyway, the point is that i often have to many items per space.