How to Join Trade Chat in World of Warcraft

MMORPG

Jan 17

*Image Credit: Blizzard, World of Warcraft*

Trade Chat in World of Warcraft is the chaotic marketplace of Azeroth. Whether you're buying, selling, advertising your crafting skills, or just spectating the inevitable arguments, Trade Chat has it all. If you’re not sure how to join, don’t worry—this guide will have you shouting “WTS [Really Cool Sword]” in no time.

Step 1: Head to a Major City

Trade Chat is only available in major cities. Blizzard has decided that people shouting about overpriced mounts don’t belong in the middle of the jungle. You’ll need to be in one of these locations:

Alliance Cities: Stormwind, Ironforge, Darnassus, Exodar, Boralus, or Valdrakken.
Horde Cities: Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff, Undercity, Silvermoon, Dazar’alor, or Valdrakken.

If you’re not in one of these places, you’re not getting into Trade Chat—no exceptions.

Step 2: Check Your Chat Settings

Sometimes you might have left Trade Chat by accident (or rage-quit it because you couldn’t handle one more “Thunderfury” joke). Here’s how to make sure you’re in:

Right-click on the General tab in your chat window.
Select Settings or Channels (depends on your interface).
Look for Trade in the list.

If it’s not checked, it’s time to move on to the next step.

Step 3: Use the Join Command

If Trade Chat isn’t showing up, you can manually rejoin. Just type this command into your chat box:

bash

CopyEdit

/join Trade

Boom. You’re back in the game. If this doesn’t work, you’re probably not in a major city. Go back to Step 1 and rethink your life choices.

Step 4: Start Chatting in Trade

To send messages in Trade Chat, you’ll need to specify the channel. Don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as it sounds:

Type /2 followed by your message (Trade Chat is Channel 2 by default).
Example:
```
css
```
CopyEdit
/2 Selling [Super Cool Sword] for 1000g! PST!

Now, everyone in the city can see your message. Brace yourself for the offers, trolls, or complete silence (because no one actually needs that sword).

Step 5: Customize Your Chat Window

If Trade Chat starts to feel like a yelling match you can’t escape from, you can isolate it into its own tab.

Right-click on the General tab and select Create New Tab.
Name it something like “Trade” or “Where Sanity Goes to Die.”
In the new tab, adjust the settings to show only Trade Chat messages.

Now you can enjoy the madness in its own special little corner.

Tips for Using Trade Chat (and Keeping Your Sanity)

Stick to the point: Trade Chat is for buying, selling, or advertising. If you want to debate lore or spam ASCII art, take it to General Chat (or anywhere else).
Don’t spam: Yes, we all want to sell our wares, but posting the same message every three seconds will just get you ignored—or worse, reported.
Use item links: Shift-click an item in your inventory to link it in chat. This will save you from typing out “Cool Sword” and make your ad look more professional (well, as professional as yelling in Trade Chat can be).

Congratulations, you’re now ready to join Trade Chat, Azeroth’s bustling marketplace and most entertaining dumpster fire. Good luck out there, and may your “WTS” messages be free of typos. Unless, of course, you’re selling “Thunderfurry.” In that case, carry on.