[Jack Simth]

Wealth vs. Money.....

Making a magic item costs one half the item's market price in materials (gold pieces) and 1/25th the market price in XP. You can generally sell items for half their market value. So, you make a +6 Cloak of Charisma, spend 18,000 gp and 1,440 xp, then sell the market value 36,000 gp cloak for 18,000 gp.... a net loss of 1,440 xp, 0 gp, and 36 days of your time. You don't make a profit in that manner (castings of Wish, on the other hand, can net the caster quite a lot, at a hefty XP cost).

A character that Crafts magic goods, however, has a higher wealth rating than the character might otherwise have. That 10,000 gp of junk nets you 5,000 gp. You could spend that 5,000 gp on a +2 Bracers of armor and a +1 cloak of resistance, or you could craft that 5,000 gp (and 400 xp) into +2 Bracers of Armor (4,000 gp market) and a +2 Cloak of Resistance (4,000 gp market) and have enough left over for a +1 Ring of Protection (2,000 gp market). 10,000 gp of junk and 400 xp = 10,000 gp of crafted useful items of the crafter's selection, or 10,000 gp of junk = 5,000 gp of purchased useful items of the purchaser's selection. Of course, Crafting costs XP, which slows level advancement a might....