On August 1, 2011, it was reported that Diablo III will feature two types of auction houses; one where players spend in-game gold and another where players can buy or sell virtual items for real-world money.[33] The real-money auction house will not be available in Hardcore mode.[34]
Blizzard has stated that nearly everything that drops on the ground, including gold, can be traded with other players directly or through the auction house system. Aside from certain quest items, there will be very few (if any) items that will be bound to a particular character and therefore un-tradable.[34]
In order to get rated in South Korea, Blizzard has agreed to drop the real-money auction house from the Korean release of the game as some Korean government members thought the auction house violated Korean anti-gambling laws. [35]
In the gold-based auction house, a flat fee of 15 percent will be taken from the final sale price of an auction. The real-money auction house fees will be $1 USD, €1, £1, etc. from equipment (weapons and armor) and 15 percent from crafting materials. There is an additional 15 percent "cashing-out" fee from proceeds gained selling items in the real-money auction house. [36]
While the gold-based auction house is available to any player regardless of which region they play in, the real-money auction is restricted to players on their home region. If they use the global play function to play in a different region, they will not be able to access the real-money auction house. [37]