Power-Leveling a profession is widely recognized as one of the most expensive things to do in World of Warcraft. I have heard countless stories about people spending thousands and thousands of gold in WoW just leveling up a profession as quickly as possible. Now I leveled a few professions since the beginning of Cataclysm and let me tell you that if you're smart about it, you can break even, and easily find multiple niche markets that can allow for a steady long term income along the way.
Leveling mining by means of smelting ore is an extremely viable way to level the profession quickly and efficiently, and using this method you can level the profession almost completely without leaving a major city. The exceptions being 10 levels from 340-350 skill in the transition between Outlands and Northrend , and the final 25 levels between skill 500 and 525. Now the reason I am telling you all this is to show the massive range of ore and bars you'll have access to while leveling the profession. Having such a large repertoire will allow you to cater to audiences from levels 1-85 looking to level professions such as Engineering, Blacksmithing, Jewelcrafting, Enchanting(in the form of imbuing rods crafted by Blacksmiths but necessary for Enchanters nonetheless), and Alchemy(transmuting Saronite Bars). All of these professions require metals in varying forms to level up the profession, but the first three listed are the ones with the highest demand.
After power-leveling my mining skill through smelting I began to explore all of the opportunities that lay in front of me. I had a large supply of bars, and wanted to look into what would make me the most gold. First off, there was almost always a huge price differential between the ore and bars I saw on the AH, and I could basically break even by just selling what I had smelted. I compared prices and found specifically the Outland materials, Fel Iron and Adamantite Bars to be selling for a couple hundred gold a stack easily. Leveling a profession is one of the easiest ways to explore available niche markets on your server. Finding out all of the possibilities for extraneous sources of income can allow for a long term and lucrative relationship with that market. For example, after I had figured out how easy it was to make gold by just buying ore off the auction house and smelting it, I began to keep the most profitable ore on my snatch list, so when I saw any I could pick it up easily and smelt it for a nice markup.
A few more examples of this is the market for Khorium Power Cores. These items are gold mines, and can be crafted using the Engineering profession, and sold for a huge markup on the Auction House. These are valuable items partially because of the rarity of Khorium in general, and partially because they are reagents for high end items such as the epic Engineering mount. A core is also a necessary part of a quest that grants reputation towards the Netherwing faction. Khorium is always on my snatch list, and is often listed cheaply so make sure to look out for it if you can. Other items for possible niche markets that be crafted using metal are Enchanting Rods that are created through Blacksmithing, and Delicate Copper Wire which is a material required by Engineers but only crafted by Jewelcrafters to make Fused Wiring, which
is an important reagent needed to make the "Lil' Smoky" and "Pet Bombling" pets, as well as cool items like Goblin Jumper Cables.
These are just a few examples of the countless niche markets ready to be discovered through leveling a profession. Make sure to check the competition and demand for the item on the AH before making a substantial investment, and do some research as well. Most of these markets are server specific and it's up to you to find out what's going to be the best one. Use this advice well, and I hope you can all find something that works well for you.
If you have any suggestions for future topics, feedback, or just want to get in touch with me, feel free to contact me through my twitter @AlerickF
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