There are two sources of money in WOW. You can either get it from NPCs, or you can get it from other players. NPCs will give you money when you defeat them or sell them items or services like completing quests. The amount of money you can make this way is static and reliable, but very very low. If you really want to make money you need to sell game items to other players. The rarer or harder to get the item is the more valuable it is and the more you’ll make from it.
In general there are two types of items people will buy, the first and foremost are crafting materials. Ore, herbs, leather, cloth and enchanting supplies are the most consumed items in the game so they are in constant demand. Because resource gathering is the most profitable source of income in game it is recommended that early on you take two gathering skills like mining and skinning. This means that you won’t be able to take a crafting skill like blacksmithing or alchemy, but prior to the high levels those skills are really not worth the money they cost. Crafting skills only really shine in the very high levels with rare patterns and recipes so it is much better to spend this time gathering materials and selling them.
The second category are specialty items like recipes and patterns, specialty crafting supplies like elemental items and special armor drops. All of these require you to research which items drop where or sell from what vendor. Usually these are not from a steady source and your profit at the end of the day will vary tremendously.
Level 1-10
You will blow through these levels so fast that there is no real way to make any serious money. Fortunately you don’t really need a great deal at this point anyway. All of your gear will come from quests or cost a few copper from a vendor so farming for money is not necessary. It’s always nice to have a bulging purse though so here are some tips for making some quick cash to pay your trainer.
Nearly all humanoids past level five will drop linen cloth which sells well in stacks at the Auction house.
At level five you can gain a gathering skill like mining or skinning and then sell the stacks of resources on the auction house.

Invest in getting an extra bag or two early on, even if it only has four slots. Nearly everything you kill will drop grey quality items that can be sold to a vendor. The investment will pay for itself quicker then you think.
Level 10-20.
You’ll still be leveling up to fast for any real cash gathering, but at this point you will have more opportunity to sell items on the auction house. Save every piece of cloth and crafting material you can and save them in your bank. When you have a full stack sell them on the auction house. Also be sure to save all the grey junk drops and sell them to a vendor.
At this point there aren’t that many good farming areas but at level eighteen you can go into the area before the Deadmines and farm the stripminers there. They have a high drop rate of wool cloth and there are lots of copper veins and a few tin veins.
Level 20-30
In Westfall the abandoned town of Moonbrook is a great farming location. The Defias mobs here are plentiful and respawn very fast and all drop linen cloth nearly every other kill as well as lots of grey items. There are also three chest spawn locations inside each of the three major buildings. The best reason for farming in this place though is that upstairs in the abandoned inn is a merchant that you can sell all your grey items and junk to. This way you don’t have to throw away things to make space or waste time running back to sentinel hill.
In the southern western part of Ashenvale is Silverwind Refuge with a vendor named Harklan Moongrove. He sells a recipe for Shadow Protection Potions that cost ten silver each, but can be sold on the AH for up to two gold. Since it is a rather isolated area it is rarely ever sold out and respawns every thirty minuets.
At post level twenty five you can go to the Wetlands and mine lots of tin in the cave west of Mosshide Fen. There is also a special type of ore here called Incendicite that sells for a little, but is very plentiful. And finally there is a silver elite spider in the way back of the cave that drops a special shield and

ring. This area is full of level twenty to twenty two spiders so poison can be an issue, but if you bring enough antidotes you should finish them off quickly.
Level 30-40
In your early thirties you can go to the south western corner of the Swamp of Sorrows and hunt Dreaming Whelps. Each one has a low chance of dropping a Tiny Emrald Whelping pet. These often go for over one hundred gold on the Auction house because they are so rare.
If you have the mining tradeskill go to the Arathi highlands to mine iron. Start at the Boulderfist Ogre mound in the south and follow the edge of the zone east and north. When you have passed Witherbark village stop and head back. All along this area there are lots of Iron deposits and several Mithril ones as well. By doing this mining run I was able to get nearly a full stack of bars and stones each trip. When I was trying to get the money for my epic mount quest I mostly came here because it was so easy.
When you reach the high thirties head to northern Stranglethorn and grind on the Bloodscalp trolls in the Kalia, Zuuldaia and Balal ruins. Theses areas are packed with mobs that die quickly and have a high drop rate of silk cloth. An hours worth of grinding here will bring in several stacks that can be sold for nearly one gold a piece as well as money drops, green items and vender trash. When grinding here though try to work your way around the edges instead of rushing inside since if you die and have to rez inside you will be attacked by multiple mobs.
If you have Herbalism you can make loads of money in the Stonetalon mountains. Because the zone is mostly narrow canyons you can run through the middle and avoid missing any spawns. Steelbloom and Kingsblood are the best moneymakers here, especially in the southern part.
Level 40-50
If you have mining head to Tanaris and walk around the edge of the zone. If you follow the mountains on the edge of the map you will have a very good chance of finding Mithril and Truesilver deposits. By the time

you have made it all the way around most of the points will have respawned and you can mine them again. All of the Mithril bars and stones sell for several gold per stack.
At level forty five the Southsea Pirate base in Tanaris is a great place to load up on cash and Mageweave cloth. This area has lots of mobs close together that drop cash and Mageweave but also occasionally drop a Pirate’s Footlocker. Usually the chest contains junk, but sometimes it has a treasure key that can be used to open a chest in one of the ships. This chest has a high chance of having a BOE blue item inside that can be sold for several gold.
Level 50-60
At level 52 a great grinding place is Felstone Field and Dalsons Tears in the western plaguelands. These areas are loaded with undead mobs that spawn quickly and drop Runecloth. The reason this area is special is because you will be able to grind reputation with the Argent Dawn and collect Scourge stones at the same time. And since it is filled with undead you’ll have an easer time fighting.
Another good place to farm in the low fifties are the satyr camps in Felwood. I would suggest heading to Jadefire Glen and killing the demons here for Felcloth, regular cloth and cash. You will want to hunt the Jadefire Rouges especially since they are one of only two mobs that drop the recipe for Elixir of the Mongoose.
In the northern part of the Western Plaugelands is a Scarlet Crusade stronghold. The normal mobs here drop Runecloth and cash. But the real reason you’re here is to kill the Scarlet Spellbinders. They have a very low chance of dropping the formula for the Crusader Weapon enchant. Since the Burning Crusade has come out very few people farm it anymore and can go for several hundred gold on the AH. It is VERY dependent on luck though because the drop rate is so very low. So unless you have a lot of patience you may want to try somewhere else.

If you have both skinning and mining leveled to three hundred you can make an incredible amount of money in the Ice Thistle Hills in Winterspring. East and south of Everlook you will find a large gathering of Yetis with a giant cave at the top of the hill. Inside the cave are Icethistle Patriarchs and Matriarchs that when skinned have a ninety

percent chance of dropping Rugged leather. I have been to many areas with skinable mobs and this would have to be the best because of the close grouping and fast respawns. The other reason this cave is great is that it have lots of thorium spawns, including four rich ones. During the course of an hour and a half I would normally walk away with four stacks of thorium ore and dense stones and sometimes an arcane crystal.
Level 60-70
Level 63
Marks and Signets
At Level sixty three you can farm Firewing Blood Elves at 70, 36 for Firewing Signets or Shadow Council Cabalists at 31, 53 for Marks of Kil’jaedin in Terrokkar. They die quickly enough and have a thirty percent drop rate for signets and marks. Stacks of ten often go for fifteen gold and you get cloth, silver and vendor trash as well.
Level 65
As soon as you reach level sixty five go to the Auction House and buy thirty six Pairs of Ivory Tusks. Head to Nagrand and follow the western road to Aeris Landing. When you get here turn them all in to Shadrek and you will achieve friendly status with the Consortium. This means that every month you will get a bag of gems as payment which usually contains a blue gem worth up to sixty gold, more then making up for your initial investment. Now you can just forget about them and get free money every month, but don’t go and sell them right away. At the beginning of the month everyone gets their gems and the prices drop. Wait till the middle of the month to clean up.
Murkblood Scavangers
In Nagrand the ruined village of Firespring is overrun with Murkblood Broken. Most of these are just regular mobs, but there are packs of Murkblood Scavengers which are special. They have low attack, unbelievably low HP and can be taken down with one or two instant attacks. Besides dropping a little bit of silver and vendor trash they have a chance of dropping valuable Netherweave cloth.
Level 67+
Motes of Fire

In the north east corner of Blade Edge Mountains is a volcanic area called Skald. There are lots of fire elementals here that have a 25% chance of dropping motes of fire.

Ten motes can be turned into a Primal fire which can then be sold for twenty to thirty five gold. In addition you will have Elemental Fragments and Primordial Essences which drop nearly every kill and vendor for a good bit of silver. Try to keep Flame ward up as often as possible because most of the mobs here are fire based.
Level 68
Manaforge Farming
Between level 68 and 69 you can farm Sunfury mobs at mana forge B’naar. They have a thirty percent chance of dropping Sunfury Signets which go for about one and a half gold and a two percent chance of dropping an Arcane Tome which usually goes for twenty. They drop between fifteen and twenty five silver per kill in addition to regular loot. The best mobs to farm are the Sunfury Geologists and Warp Engineers because of their low physical attack power.
Forge camp Farming.
The alternative to Sunfury farming is legion farming at Forge Camp Anger in the Blades Edge Mountains. Instead of signets they drop Marks of Sargarus and instead of Arcane Tomes they drop Fel Armaments. The best mobs here are the Mo-arg workers, especially the smaller ones.
Level 70
Questing of money.
This is actually a very easy way to earn money with very little effort. At level seventy the experience you would normally get from quests is converted into gold so the cash rewards you receive will increase dramatically. At level seventy most quests have a ten gold reward minimum and are no more difficult then quests at sixty nine. If you get your quests from a large hub like a town or outpost they will usually all be in the same area and you can finish several at once. Five quests in one hour is very easily done and gives you 50 to 60 gold. In addition most level 70 mobs drop between 15 to 25 silver as well as vendor trash, and most quests will give you a piece of armor or weapon that can be sold for several gold.

The best places to do quests at level seventy are in Netherstorm and Shadowmoon Valley. In Netherstorm the Protectorate Base camp north of Manaforge Ultriss, The Stormspire, and Kirin Var village all have lots of quests that can be completed nearby. You may also want to go back to Area 52 and gather any unfinished quests there. In Shadowmoon Vally your quest hubs depend on if you are with the Scryers or

Aldor. If you are Scryer go to the Sanctum of the Stars and if you are Aldor go to the Alter of Shatar. You should also check out Wildhammer Stronghold and Netherwing fields.
Motes of Fire II
At level sixty seven you can farm motes of fire at Skald in the Blade Edge Mountains, but that place can be very crouded sometimes. I have found a better alternative farming area at Forge Camp Terror and Wrath in the western most part of the Blade’s Edge Mountains. Each camp is at opposite ends of a long ally that can only be reached with a flying mount, so there is almost never any competition. Each camp has a group of fire elementals which have a slightly higher drop rate for motes than the ones at Skald. Forge Camp Terror in the south has six elementals with a few demons in the center. I farm at Terror because I can kill the nearby demons easily while waiting for the elementals to respawn.