Simple Strategy 1: Making gold with Jewelcrafting
I'd like to preface this article by saying that this method of making gold is entirely dependent onyour server's economy. This statement is doubly true if you do not have access to a character with 375 mining and an epic flyer. That said, if the economic clime is right on your server, you can make disgusting amounts of gold by doing this.
The first step is to level jewelcrafting. Just a note, assuming my server's economy is fairly typical, it will cost you around 800-900 gold to level to 300, and an additional 200 or so to level to 350. From 1-300, you should be able to make at least 400 of that back if you have access to an enchanter to disenchant the rings and necklaces you make. From 300-325, the items start disenchanting into arcane dust and lesser planar essences. At this point, you should be able to recoup the other half of your initial investment. At 325, you can stop buying mats off of the auction house and start prospecting Adamantite Ore. This is where jewelcrafting really starts to shine. You have around a 15% chance per prospect to get a blue gem that sells for between 15- 60g on average. These are the main reason you are prospecting. Hang on to your green gems that you get, you'll be cutting them to level to 350. Once you get to 350, stop cutting green gems and save them for disenchantable rings and necklaces. As far as the blues, you have 2 options. You can either bank them until you have bought a pattern to cut them with, or you can sell them raw.
Now that you're at 350 jewelcrafting, you can either continue playing the prospecting slot machine, or you can focus on obtaining patterns for rare gems and making easy money by buying raw gems, cutting them, and relisting. My advice would be to browse different class forums and buy one or two patterns that are considered essential for each gem type. My first pattern purchase was for Glinting Noble Topaz (+4 hit rating, +4 agility) which is THE de facto red slot gem for raiding rogues under the hit cap. The first day I had it, I bought 2 Noble Topaz from the auction house for 40g each, and resold them for 60g. I made 40g for clicking a button twice.
As far as prospecting, I generally only prospect when I have a decent amount of gold to sink into it, and when ore is under 27g per stack. After buying ore at 30g per stack and losing about 20g due to a string of Talasites (Yes, they're rare, they're better than a green gem, but they are seriously the gag gift of prospecting) I'm a lot more patient waiting for the market to settle.
A general rule for the auction house is to buy on weekends when supply is higher, and sell onweekdays when it is mostly the hardcore crowd playing. Doing this, I have picked up Noble Topaz for as low as 30g per, and sold the cut gem for 70g.
Simple Strategy 2:Robbing the Chinese gold sellers
Using the neutral auction house, be it Winterspring, Gadgetzan or Booty Bay, it is possible to monitor the chinese gold sellers as they do item transfers between factions (mainly to transfer gold between factions).
Any seller who doesn't have any gold in his account, and often times they hand over everything they make on a daily basis, will try transfers of very valuable items for sale for only a few silver. Your task is to use the Bottom Scanner that comes with Auctioneer. Scan the AH every few seconds and have it notify you when something will show a profit of at least 250 gold. (Please refer to our Mastering the Market guide for a complete description of how to use Auctioneer). Most Chinese farmers are prepared for this type of snatch and are supplied with gold to make the purchase of an item unpractical. But if you check the neutral AH around 6pm EST, and on 8 hour intervals based on that time frame, you'll catch the sellers at the end of their shifts. If one has no gold connection for transfers, you can snag all his stuff for a song.
This is perfectly legal. They put it up for sale and you purchased it. You can't get in trouble for that.
Simple Strategy 3 - Blacksmithing
Requirements:
350 Enchanting
400 Blacksmithing
An alt with 350 Mining
One blacksmithing recipe that is of particular interest is the Horned Cobalt Helmet. To make one helmetrequires 8 Cobalt bars. The object is to disenchant these helmets after they are produced. This is a common strategy used by most Enchanters who carry a second profession like Tailoring, Leatherworking or Blacksmithing. But in this case the dusts and essences can be sold for a fairly consistent profit on the
Auction House. Check it out!
(this particular strategy is noted on the elite pvpers forum.
Here is a more detailed explanation:
Ores are Usually cheaper then Bars so simply buy ores and smelt So if you managed to level an alt and have 375 mining, simply go and learn the [Smelt: Cobalt Bar] recipe from the trainer in Howling Fjord and go to the inn and then log your main. Buy ALL Cobalt Ores you can find for reasonable prices (at my AH its 1.4g each) Send them to your alt, log alt and start Smelting (I usually get 300-800 ores per day). You can go AFK meanwhile as this takes some time. When that is done ship all of them over to your Main.
Head to the Great Anvil (or any anvil) with your 100s of bars.Start Smithing Horned Cobalt Helm . This is the ONLY 75+ item I could find fromthe trainer that was still reasonably cheap. But it's still a goldmine. Now smithing 30 or 300 doesn't matter, it still takes time. So take a break or get some mountain dew.
Check in regularly and when you're done start Disenchanting.From a batch of 40 helms (260 bars) I get around 15 Greater Cosmic and 120 Dust.
And that's pretty awesome .
