Know when to shop

Sunday afternoons are the Strangtlethorn Vale Fishing Extravaganza. Everybody that's anybody attends. Sunday afternoons are also the best time to camp the auction house for the fresh catch of the day. Most of the anglers fish up at least a few stray unwanted fish unrelated to the prizes and dump them for cheap on the AH afterwards. It's one of the best time to shop for firefin snappers, oily blackmouths and stonescale eels.

There's no need to ever pay full-price for anything and fish can be particularly expensive. There is also no need to farm everything yourself and spend all your precious warcraft time farming. Slip into the AH regularly, know what you need and make a quick scan for bargains. Know when AH patterns - when the mats you want to buy are cheap and the items you have made or looted will sell for serious dough.

I can make over a hundred cold a day in less than an hour by scanning the AH at the right times for the right goodies. There's nothing else a level one, aka my auction toon, can do to make that high an hourly rate. The AH is your best friend, particularly if you play casually and tend to solo. It opens doors to loot that otherwise would have been locked and opens a window to novices who sell for cheap and provides access to the rich who buy for plenty. I'll say it again, the auction house is a casual gamers best friend.