Crafting for Profit
by Chris Miller 
Jan 18th 2007 at 9:21AM
So what can you do with crafting to actually make money? I haven't found a single thing in leatherworking, herbalism, engineering or blacksmithing that I can actually turn a profit on. Specifically, there's nothing that I can make that I can sell for more money than what I'd sell the raw materials for. Just because I can gather the materials myself, if I can sell them on the auction house for more than I can sell a crafted item with, then I sell the raw materials.There's only one exception I've found: Bags. I can almost always buy runecloth, rugged leather, and rune thread from the auction house and the vendor and make a profit. I'm not sure if it's still people doing Argent Dawn turnins, or if people really do start up that many new characters, but I can generally sell runecloth bags on the auction house for 2g75s at a minimum but up to 4g sometimes, and the material cost is under 2g25s. It's not a huge profit, but it makes more money for me than simply selling the runecloth.
My guild's alchemists tell me that it's generally cheaper, even with the expansion coming soon, to sell dreamfoil than to gather the rest of the materials for fire protection potions. I believe it. Are there professions and items I'm missing, or did I manage to luck into tailoring since it's the only one that can consistently turn a profit?
Filed under: Herbalism, Alchemy, Engineering, Leatherworking, Tailoring, Items, Economy, Making money
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Brim Jan 18th 2007 9:35AM
Hope for them they didnt sell all their dreamfoil... Loads of potions in TBC need them.
But to be honest. I'm an Alch. + Herbalist to make it easier on myself. Not for the money.
If I want cash I go and grind some.
Rok Steady Jan 18th 2007 9:43AM
I've made money with being a supplier. If you're willing to farm for a few hours, you're going to make money doing what many players would rather never do. The need to have 'right now' is what drives the outside gold-buying market. WoW will make you work and I've seen on many posts on various forums that people will put music on and farm for 2-3 hours and then turn in 200-300 ore to make a nice profit.
Mining and Herbalism seem to be the money-making professions, while I too have made a nice sum of gold from bags. Bags will always be in demand, for bank characters, alts and when upgrading. The Mooncloth bags are time-consuming and with BC, obsolete unless there is a receipe which requires it in the Outland. But few people will turn to the Argent Dawn for bags now, but I may run Scholo or Strat by myself @ 70 to gather mats for the turn-ins, just to make sure I get them all ;-p.
Inconceivable Jan 19th 2007 12:09AM
I remember in my late 20's and early thirties I made some nice profits (for that level) off of the cape that LW makes. I can't remember it off the top of my head (although I'm thinking Hillman's cloak), but it's the one that you have to have to finish the Windigo cape quest in soutshore.
aaron Jan 18th 2007 5:54PM
cloth has always been the easiest thing for me to sell. I couldnt sell BOE blues for the life of me before the BC hit but I could still sell every single stack of RC. Ive never made any money with crafting professions.
Sylythn Jan 18th 2007 10:06AM
One niche in bags that always seems to be missing from the AH on my server is Mageweave Bags. What's available always seems to skip right from 10 to 14 slots. That means I have little competition, and I've consistently sold them for 1g each...when the cloth is free (from mobs) and the thread negligible, this is a nice way to make some money.
seth Jan 18th 2007 10:07AM
I made a batch of Runecloth Bags yesterday because I was able to buy enough mats to make 8 bags for a total price of about 23g, and the only bag listed on the AH was listed at a 10g BO. I listed 6 of them at 8g, and they were all sold within an hour. Sadly, I was back in Outland, and unable to capitalize more. Usually, I don't bother to craft for money, but when there are that sort of margins at stake, I'm willing to do so. People make alts, and somehow, that equates to the need for more bags (even though they are not BOE).
Chuck Jan 18th 2007 10:07AM
I like to elemental sharpening stones... depending on the cost elemental earth you can make 1-2g per stone profit....
Jusk Jan 18th 2007 10:09AM
For a while, I made a crap-ton of cash by buying rugged leather, making wicked leather headbands, and then DEing them. Of course, thats not viable anymore.
At the moment, it seems I can make a profit from knothide armor kits. I have a feeling Ill be able to make a profit from the leg "enchants" soon too.
StWaldo Jan 18th 2007 10:12AM
As a former alc (turned JC), I found that I could always turn a decent profit making major healing and mana potions. Another decent alc money maker is the xmute. The cooldown sucks, but on my server the going rate for an arcanite xmute was ~5g. If I couldn't find business for that, I'd usually buy a cheap essence and transmute it into Air, or something that was selling well. I'd expect the transmute racket to continue in TBC.
As far as jewelcrafting - no clue yet what the market is going to bear as far as gemcutting and crafting pieces. I personally took a loss on a lot of the pieces I crafted in my grind because of the glutted market. 'Course, I glutted it, so....ooops
tyger Jan 18th 2007 10:40AM
Before the expansion pack, I made Volcanic Shoulders with huge profits. A 10stack of essence of fire and earth can usually be bought at 20gs and then I would use skinning to gather the rugged leather. One Volcanic Shoulders would bring in 20gs. So all I had to do was sell 1 shoulder and any I sold afterwards would be profit. However, since MC has gone the way of the dinosaurs, I stopped making them because they just weren't selling after the expansion pack.
X Jan 18th 2007 1:47PM
Actually there are a number of things in tailoring that you can sell for a nice profit. I'd tell you which ones, but i don't want the competition, lol.
A_B Jan 18th 2007 11:12AM
I hopped onto my main last night for the first time in months and saw that my inventory, bank and bags, was loaded with blacksmithing raw material.
I've never had much money with the main all they way up to and including lvl 60. Usually less than 20g at any one time.
So last night I decided to clean out my bags (not my bank account; I'll do that tonight) of rocks, bars, etc.
This morning, I woke up to find I had sold 30g worth of stuff and still had several auctions pending. More than I've ever sold, and way more than the value/cost of anything I could craft with blacksmithing.
If my alt (herbalism and skinning) that is always flush with gold wasn't enough to convince me that crafting was for suckers, the one night in AH with my constantly poor main was.
ramanan Jan 18th 2007 9:34PM
On eitrigg it is almost always better to sell herbs than it is to produce a potion from them. There are a handful of exceptions, but they are few and far between.
Orin Jan 18th 2007 10:33AM
I made my fortune on leatherworking when my server first started. It was great for the first six months or so.
I then picked up Tailoring to be a dual crafter. Most of my tailoring profits have been from shirts.
It works if you find a niche and buy materials at a low price. I'm now hoping to continue my tactics in burning crusade with the excellent new armor kits and thread from leatherworking and tailoring.
If you put in the research and time, you can make a profit with any profession. It's just not as easy as simply gathering stuff and selling it on the AH.
Bartholemues Jan 18th 2007 11:14AM
I have found a new TBC recipe that is netting me 15g profit at the moment. But I'm not telling you what it is! ;D
Seidkona Jan 18th 2007 11:53AM
Thorium shells makes a nice profit for me even if I buy all the mats from the ah.
Peter Wisz Jan 18th 2007 11:42AM
I remember my bigest money maker ... an endeavour back in the day that would net me close to 1k g after a day of farming... not crusader, but Jumper Cables XL
Stealth into the bar, gank the bartender, rinse, repeat.
It seemed i was the only one farming it for a while, so i would send the schematics to multiple bank toons and make it seem like it was heavily farmed... 3 toons selling them for 100 - 120g a pop, ahh memories
umamasyean Jan 18th 2007 11:29AM
Well if you dont like to "gather" (definate gold maker), and you don't like to "service" (become a ORG IF chatbot high level enchanter after investing 2000g)...
Very few "craft" items can turn a decent profit. Once of the most overlooked items I found was the Discombobulator Ray (non-engineering-req). At average 3g a pop, it used to be a lot for 5 charges so maybe it didn't catch on, but nowadays with lots of 60+s arround, and ppl buying gold as was mentioned too, 3g is peanuts and I've recently made a bunch to replenish my stock and sell extra. On my server it costs like 1-2g to make depending on mats. It's not much but when you sell many it adds up. Not many ppl know of it's usefulness because it's more rare b/c you have to get a special drop from gnomeregan and do this odd quest to get it...and the price has stunted the widespread use when 3g was a lot. It dismounts players and slows them down with a little nerf in AP. That's an extra situational attack with a low cooldown for a fairly cheap price (only 60s a shot). Not like you always use it.
Jenet Jan 18th 2007 11:24AM
I've earned 500 gold just leveling and mining what I find. I'm also a skinner, but have been sending mats to one of our LWs. Fel Iron Ore is selling for ungodly amounts right now. and various gems are crazy too. I'm also the only person selling any motes, last I checked.
2 bubs to 63. I can't WAIT to have a flying mount. I may even subsidize the second person in guild to 70, so I have a flying partner.
Pijin Jan 18th 2007 12:15PM
My first moneymaking plan in WoW came about with the Winter Veil world event. Took up Cooking just to make Gingerbread cookies, and went many times to Kharanos to get milk. Made about 10g in profit in a day of farming birds in westfall, pretty decent as a lvl 30. Had a great time LOL'ing with my 60 friend after I told him my plan worked. Shame on you Darkspear for buying milk and cookies from me for 50s to 1g a pop