5 Ways to Make Gold in World of Warcraft

I have seen plenty of articles going on and on about how to make gold in World of Warcraft. A lot of them point to applications, guides, and other things you have to pay for to make gold. But where is the fun in that? I surely don't follow that, and while it can be fairly easy to make gold in WoW, you need the most amount possible to make the most of your gaming experience.

So let's cut to the chase - below are the top five ways that you can earn gold in WoW.

1. Auctions. The auction house is one of those hidden gems that can help you earn lots of gold in WoW. The basic premise is buying low and selling high. The other thing to do is to corner the market. Buy up all of an item (usually a trade skill item - herbs, metal, etc.) and resell them at a much higher price. It requires some constant commitment though. To get the flow of gold going, you will have to let your items expire and re-list them every two days. You have to find new items to buy, and ensure you keep up with the trends of what item is needed at any given time. A new patch can throw the market in chaos, which is the best time to pick up a lot of gold or a lot of items cheaply. One of the best mods out there to help in your new enterprise is Auctioneer. That mod has many options so you can tailor it to what you plan to buy and sell. It's also fun when you see yourself buying an item dirt cheap, and turn around and selling it for thousands of gold.
2. Be a tank! Being a tank is the best way to earn a lot of gold. Tanks currently control the grouping landscape in Warcraft. Earning the extra rewards by doing random instances when tanks are needed is a great way to earn unexpected, and sometimes random, amounts of gold. Besides getting in an instance right away, the reward bag can contain up to 100 gold (from what I have seen) and some other item. One of the items that always sell well are companions. In a run I ran the other day, I was given the Firefly pet from my bag. That companion sells for thousands of gold. The other advantage is that players will actually pay you tanks to queue in a group with them just so they can get in the instance much faster.
3. Tradeksills. As risky and costly as it might sound, having two crafting skills will pay off in the long run. Besides the fact that you will two tradeskills to use to upgrade your items, you will have two skills to choose from to make gold with. In every expansion, or even patch, some tradeskills swing from being stagnant to in demand. Having two crafting skills will let you take advantage of the situation. Yes you may pay a lot for materials, but you could also craft items using supplies provided by people. Now a days people tip. They tip generously. So that is a great way to earn some gold.
4. Tradeskills, part 2. On the flip-side, having two gathering skills is virtually all profit with no loss. With a lot effort and time, you can have a lot of resources to sell off on the auction house. Just ensure you follow tip one so you get as much money as possible. It's debatable on what those skills should be, but Mining should be one of them. Ore has always proven to be one of the most valuable resources to sell. Again, don't expect to get rich through this method, but it will always be a reliable source of income.
5. Be a better player. Do all you can to be a better player. It will save you money in repair costs, but more importantly you won't be wasting time. The faster you progress through content, the more money and items you will earn. If you wipe on a raid boss over and over, you will just be losing money and time. Do what you can to learn the content, learn your class, and be a better player. You will also make friends and get yourself into a good guild, thus helping you save more gold. That will be the biggest money maker you will have.

Don't buy gold from gold sellers! No, no, no! Not only are you spending real life cash on fake currency, you are also breaking the rules and could earn yourself a ban if caught. Plus, seriously, it's not that hard to earn gold in Warcraft. Give it a shot.