Every capital city in World of Warcraft: Forever has an Auction House. For the Alliance it is in Stormwind’s Trade District, Ironforge’s Commons and Darnassus’s Tradesmen’s Terrace; for the Horde it is in Orgrimmar’s Valley of Strength, on Thunder Bluff’s Lower Rise and in Undercity’s Trade Quarter. Talk to any auctioneer there to open it.
Below is each one in more detail, how to find it fast, how listing works at launch (including the deposit rule that surprised a lot of sellers), the new Black Market, and what you can and cannot trade across rulesets. Locations are checked against Blizzard’s WoW Forever posts and development notes as of November 7, three days after launch.
Every Auction House, City by City
| City | Faction | District | Landmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stormwind | Alliance | Trade District | The large building in the middle of the district |
| Ironforge | Alliance | The Commons | The ring of shops around the Commons, near the bank |
| Darnassus | Alliance | Tradesmen’s Terrace | Along the water’s edge |
| Orgrimmar | Horde | Valley of Strength | Just inside the main gate, near the bank |
| Thunder Bluff | Horde | Lower Rise | Tents below the flight tower |
| Undercity | Horde | Trade Quarter | The central ring of the city |
The fastest way to find any of them: ask a city guard. Blizzard’s new player’s starter guide says guards give directions and mark the spot on your map, and the Auction House is one of the places they know.
Stormwind. The Trade District sits just inside the city from the main gate, past the canals. It is the busiest Alliance Auction House, and the bank and plenty of mailboxes are nearby.
Ironforge. Head into the Commons, the ring district that holds the bank. Dwarves and gnomes start next door in Dun Morogh, so it fills up early.
Darnassus. The Tradesmen’s Terrace runs along the water. Getting to Darnassus at all takes two boats from Stormwind, which our guide to getting to Darnassus covers.
Orgrimmar. The Valley of Strength is the first district inside the main gate, and the Auction House is there with the bank. It is the Horde’s busiest.
Thunder Bluff. Look on the Lower Rise, in the tents under the flight tower. If you are coming from Orgrimmar, our guide to getting to Thunder Bluff has the route.
Undercity. Ride an elevator down from the Ruins of Lordaeron and follow the walkways into the Trade Quarter, the hub in the middle of the city. Our guide to getting to Undercity from Orgrimmar covers the zeppelin.
How to Use It
- Right-click an auctioneer to open the Auction House window.
- To buy, search by name and use the filters. Blizzard added a column for the level needed to equip an item, and fixed the display so gear with suffixes such as “of the Monkey” shows its real stats.
- To sell, put the item in the sell slot, set the price and the duration, and post it. You pay a deposit up front.
- Collect your gold by mail. When something sells, the money arrives at your mailbox, so sell where a mailbox is close.
The deposit is higher than many expected. At launch every listing costs at least 1 silver to post, whatever the item is worth, and you lose the deposit if it does not sell. That makes cheap items such as a single piece of linen cloth or low-level fish a losing listing; sell those to a vendor or bundle them into a larger stack. Blizzard has not announced a change in its hotfix notes as of November 7.
Selling in bulk is easier with an addon. Auctionator already has a WoW Forever download; our best addons guide lists it with the others that work.
What Is Separate Between Rulesets
Each ruleset is its own economy. Blizzard kept auction houses and trade separate between rulesets at launch, so a Normal ruleset character cannot buy from a PvP ruleset Auction House, and gold made on one ruleset cannot help a character on another. Our guide to grouping across rulesets explains what else stays apart.
The original game also had neutral, goblin-run auction houses in Booty Bay, Gadgetzan and Everlook that both factions could use, at a bigger cut. Blizzard has not published a list of WoW Forever’s auction houses, so we are leaving those out of the table until it does.
The Black Market Auction House
WoW Forever adds a Black Market Auction House at Powderfuse Port, the goblin port in the new Riverglades zone. Blizzard’s Found Photos panel recap says Powderfuse Port “ties directly into the new Steamwheedle route,” the ship from the Steamwheedle Cartel in Tanaris. It sells rare items by bidding, and it is not part of the regular city auction houses.
If It Will Not Open or Let You Post
Some accounts cannot use the Auction House at all. Blizzard’s Temporary Economy Holds post says an account suspected of real-money gold trading can have “restricted use of trade, mail, guild banks and the Auction House” while Blizzard investigates; our guide to buying gold covers that system. If the window opens but a listing fails with an “Internal Auction Error”, close the Auction House, wait a moment and try again; that error has been common in launch week.
What to Sell
- Gathered materials. Herbalism, Mining and Skinning stock the Auction House from your first hour; our guide to how professions work covers the limits.
- Enchanting materials and wands. Our disenchanting guide explains turning spare greens into materials, and our guide to where to get a wand explains why crafted wands sell.
- Fish and food. Every player needs it; see our fishing guide.
Every WoW Forever guide we have is on our World of Warcraft hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Auction House in Orgrimmar? In the Valley of Strength, just inside the main gate, near the bank.
Where is the Auction House in Stormwind? In the Trade District, inside the city from the main gate.
Is there an Auction House in every capital? Yes. Each of the six original capitals has one: three for the Alliance and three for the Horde.
Is the Auction House shared between rulesets? No. Blizzard kept auction houses and trade separate between rulesets at launch.
Why does it cost a silver to list an item? At launch, every listing costs a deposit of at least 1 silver, whatever the item is worth. You get the deposit back only if the item sells.