WoW Economy 101

New to the game? Re-rolling on a new server? Or are you just really bad with money, like I am? Well, since I started my invasion of the other faction, I seem to be making money a whole lot easier than before. Perhaps it is the change in the economy, with high level characters needing low level materials to level up trade skills they never knew they would want (Leatherworking on a priest? Engineering on a protection warrior?). Or perhaps I have learned something in my old age. Maybe it's both. Here I will try and break down how I have made 800 gold before level 40. This number may vary slightly from person to person, but you will have your mount by 30, with change to spare.

1) Never throw anything away...never!

If your bag gets full, vendor the gray items, save the other items until you hit the auction house. If you have old gear that is soul bound, better to sell it to a vendor than to throw it away. A copper saved is a copper earned!

2) Take two gathering professions.

You will have plenty of time at 60+ to level that profession you want. Before raiding, most crafted items aren't worth the raw materials they take to make them. With two gathering professions, you will be funding the high levels crafting needs, and making the money you need for later! I found that skinning and herbalism were a good team, as one is tracked on the mini map while the other you happen upon while you are adventuring.

3) Don't buy gear. Earn it.

Most of the gear you will need you can earn from quest rewards and from lucky drops while questing. The only thing you should buy on the auction house at lower levels is a wand, if you are a class that uses one, and the next item on my list...

4) Bags.

Buy the biggest you can afford. These, if they are the kind that bind on equip, will last you forever. When you get bigger bags, shift the smaller ones to the bank, and sell the ones you replaced on the auction house. The bigger your inventory is, the longer you can stay out in the wilds doing the questing you need to do.

5)Bank.

Maximize your available slots as soon as you can. When you are in a hurry to go to an instance and need space, you can dump your inventory and run, safe from having to toss anything.

That is really all I have done. No bank alt, though having another character on that server to send things to is a good idea if you find yourself into questing, just to send it back when you are ready to auction.

Got any other great ideas on how to make money? I welcome comments!

(after posting the image you might notice Eso is holding on to some mining material. She forgot to return that to Astaani, who has ceased being a bank character and has begun leveling her own gathering professions)