For those players new to World of Warcraft, learning how to use the Auction House (AH) should be a major goal from their early levels in Azeroth if they are to make easy WoW gold.
In this guide I explain the basics of the WoW auction system and how to exploit it to your advantage.
After their first few levels, new players normally stumble into the AH without much of an idea of how to use it or without adopting some basic strategy to get them started.
But before discussing auction strategies, it is first necessary to discuss the basics of the WoW AH system.
In World of Warcraft the Auction House is the main way commerce is conducted in the game and essentially drives the WoW gold economy.
In the early part of the game, there was no AH and players simply conducted commerce via the Chat system.
Eventually the AH was created to make the buying and selling of items easier.
Auction Houses are found in all of the major cities.
For the Alliance:

• Ironforge in Dun
• Stormwind in Elwynn Forest
• Darnassus in Teldrassil
• The Exodar in Azuremyst Isle

For Horde:

• Orgrimmar in Durotar
• Thunder Bluff in Mulgore
• Undercity in Tirisfal Glades
• Silvermoon City in Eversong Woods

Neutral:

• Gadgetzan in Tanaris Desert
• Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale
• Everlook in Winterspring

Note: there is no major Auction House in WOTLK, you have to return to a major city to conduct trade.
To start trading in an Auction House, you simply click on the Auctioneer NPC and bring up the Auction House Interface.
Using the Interface, you can Browse for items listed at Auction, list your current Auctions or Create an Auction from materials and items in your bags.
Note: All Auction Houses of the same faction are linked, therefore the items you see listed in Dun Morogh are the same items a player sees in Darnassus.
You can't see the Auctions of an opposing faction.
To sell your loot - and hence make some gold - you simply create an auction by dragging an item from your bags to the auction interface and setting both a Bid and Buyout price.
If you have used eBay in the real world, it's a very similar process.
For bids, you much also select the length of time your item will be listed, up to a max of 48hrs.
While you must have at least a bid price for your gear, you don;t have to have a buyout price - but it's advisable to begin with.
There are some important things to note when listing an item on the Auction House: nothing comes free! You're charged a deposit for every item listed and the Auction House takes a cut for every successful auction.
If you're bad at the 'Auction House Game', you'll actually lose gold rather than make it! The trick is to list those items that other players want to buy (there is a demand) and at a price that other players find attractive - they buy from you not someone else.
You can always tell who the newbies from the pros by whats listings on the Auction House.
Newbies list valuable items at silly low prices and hence lose large amounts of gold, or list items that no one wants at a very high price and simply lose their deposit - again, more gold down the drain.
To stop being a newbie and sell like a pro, follow these simple Auction House tips:

• Know what to sell - search for your item on the Auction House and see if it's in demand.
  A good rule of thumb is that items classed as 'Trade Goods' are always in demand.
  
• Know your prices - browse similar items on the Auction House and get to know the basic prices.
  
• Always set a Bid and Buyout price.
  
• Make the bid price at least 5-10% lower than the Buyout price.
  
• Don't undercut the competition by a ridiculous amount, you're just throwing gold away.
  
• Set you bid duration to a reasonable amount of time at least 24hrs.
  

I give many more gold making hints and tips in my 6 part e-guide which is free to subscribers.
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