Is there a reason why weapons are so cheap on the auction house?

As this is usually exactly the opposite in other games, this is confusing me somewhat, especially since the essential mechanics are still the same.

The weapon slot is still the slot which has the potential to increase your DPS the most, yet really, really good equipment on the auction house seems to be dirt-cheap, while other equipment types (essentially everything that is not a weapon or off-hand), is really expensive.

I just spent 5k gold to increase my DPS by 50%, and I'm Level 55.

Is there a special reason why people sell weapons so cheaply? Are they dropped more commonly than other types of equipment?

Solution 1:

Because weapons, unlike armor, need to be upgraded more frequently.

Staying ahead of the curve when it comes to your weapons is one of the most important factors in succeeding at higher difficulty levels. They hold such a huge influence on how much you can dish out in a given time, and therefore also directly impact your survivability, as killing something faster means taking less damage.

Since weapons do not bind to a character in any way when equipped, you are creating a situation where everyone is just paying a fee for a short term equipment rental before putting it back on the Auction House for the next renter. Couple this with all classes being able to use most weapons, and you have a situation where supply will constantly be pulling farther away from demand.

Solution 2:

You can only equip at most 2 weapons, while you wear 8 pieces of armor (11 if you count accessories). This means if you find 10 weapons and 10 pieces of armor, you will likely have 8 extra weapons, while only 2 extra pieces of armor.

In addition, there are many different weapon types, so with everything having an equal chance at dropping, you're more likely to get some kind of weapon than some kind of armor.

Also, not sure if this is just me or if this contributes to the problem or not, but I frequently find weapons I can't use but think would be great for another class, so set them aside to auction. Armor seems more generic to me, and I tend to just vendor stuff that isn't an upgrade, and only auction really outstanding items. And of course, outstanding items go for a higher price than things that are merely "OK" for another class that I just want to get rid of for some extra money :)