As of 3am Pacific Standard Time, Diablo III players across the world will no longer be able to put their hard earned trinkets and gem encrusted pantaloons on the Auction House.
This change, which has been coming for many months now, will see a discontinuation of all real-money and gold auctions taking place in the game.
If players do have any active auctions which conclude after the deadline, fear not – auctioneers and buyers will still receive their gold and/or loot in the collection tab until June 24th. Real money transactions will still function normally.
Blizzard had cited that the reason for this change was that although the Auction House system provides a “convenient and secure system for trading”, it ultimately undermines Diablo’s core gameplay and the thrill of battling demons and finding epic loot.
The change comes shortly after a rehaul of the game as Blizzard prepares for the release of the upcoming expansion on March 25th, Reaper of Souls, with loot dropping which is better tailored for the player and more opportunities to fight your way through new randomised dungeons, named Nephalim Rifts, in search of great drops.
Are the changes worth it? Or is a great feature disappearing for all the wrong reasons?
graemefinch.com 
I liked the idea of an auction house originally, but it didn’t work out in the end. The loot drops were so bad that players were forced to farm gold to buy decent stuff off the AH, which is no fun.
Indeed – I’ve spent my fair amount gearing up my characters. On the plus side, the recent updates have me swimming in gear!