The Gold Sink That Wasn't
For years, listing an item on the Auction House has come with a cost. That deposit fee, Blizzard's elegant gold sink, is as much a part of the game as repair bills and flight paths. It's the tax you pay for playing the market. But what if I told you that tax has a secret, built-in off-switch?
It's not a hack. It's not a bannable exploit. It's a single line of Lua code, sitting quietly in the public-facing API, that every major auction addon uses. And with one tiny tweak, you can make it return a deposit cost of zero copper, every single time.
The Code That Breaks the Economy
Here's the dirty secret the goblins don't want you to know. The game client calculates the deposit, but it's the addon that displays it and charges your wallet. The function CalculateAuctionDeposit() is the gatekeeper.
By default, it talks to the server, gets the number, and shows it to you. But through a simple override—a single line intercepting that call—you can force it to always return 0. The auction UI updates instantly. The "Post" button lights up. And your gold total doesn't budge.
Think about the min-max potential. Flipping hundreds of low-cost commodities? Mass-posting transmog? Testing prices without burning thousands in gold? The deposit fee is the primary barrier to entry, the GCD of the economic game. This line of code removes it entirely.
Is This Griefing The System?
Before you start planning your TSM empire, let's talk consequences. This isn't some obscure RNG proc; this is a direct manipulation of a core economic mechanic. Would using it be considered griefing the game's economy?
Pros: It's client-side code in an allowed addon. You're not modifying game files. You're just... creatively interpreting an API call. For the small-time crafter, it feels like fighting back against a punitive system.
Cons: Blizzard's Warden anti-cheat could flag consistent, abnormal deposit avoidance. More importantly, if this became widespread, the AH would be flooded with infinite, zero-risk listings, crashing markets and breaking a fundamental gold sink. The devs would patch it within hours.
The Verdict: A Theorycrafter's Pipe Dream
Here's the cold, hard truth we uncovered. While the code override works technically on your screen, the server is the ultimate authority. When you hit "Post Auction," the server still calculates and charges the real deposit.
Your client might show you paid nothing, but your gold log will tell a different story. The server-side check is the final boss, and this line of code is just a visual bug—a phantom proc that doesn't actually change the rotation.
How to Do It (And Why You Shouldn't)
For the code-curious, the line looks something like this, placed in the right initialization function of an addon like Auctionator or TSM:
CalculateAuctionDeposit = function() return 0 end
It will make your deposit display show zero. But it will not save you gold. It's a fascinating glimpse into the client-server trust model, and a perfect example of why most "game-breaking" addon tricks are just UI illusions. The real economy is server-side, locked down, and untouchable.
So, you can disable the deposit display. But the dream of a free Auction House ride? That's still on cooldown.