Wow, did everyone just AH when they got to hell? My wizard is worthless, and the gear that drops is levels too low and not actually serviceable
I can't believe why people are so reluctant to use the AH. It is integral to the game, and it is fun to use and learn things from. You don't really need it before lvl 60 or inferno (unless your drops are crap), but afterwards you REALLY do.
In fact, I'd argue that the AH is one of the best ways to learn which gear will help you progress through the game. By checking auctions, you'll discover what gear is valued and which stats are valuable. Sniping auctions, finding deals, selling good loot.. it's all part of the thrill that is Diablo.
It's also interesting to see certain trends. I think you can make a good profit by anticipating which stats are trending among buyers and sellers. At first, it was main stat + vit only. Then all resist became in-demand. And now crit chance/damage + attack speed seems to be hot property. Some dude got 132k dps by abusing these stats--it's pretty crazy, if not straight up broken, lol.