the gold was purchased

Yep, I've bought gold to around the tune of 8k or so, spread across a few years and 3 separate transactions. The first time I bought some, 800g and I'll always remember that since it was the first bit of money I had over 15g, I was really nervous that I'd be scammed and I'd never see the gold. Who was I going to run and cry to, Blizzard? But I got it like a day later and all was good, aside from feeling like shit for buying gold.

The rest of the gold was purchased during Wrath and it was to get my characters the gold they needed to get flying or epic flying. I had maybe 4k or so much wowgold, and bought the rest. Those were much faster experiences, as I usually got the gold within 15 minutes. The second to last transaction, the guy who delivered my gold was actually a pretty nice guy. He lived in China and he told me that about 50% of their gold was "legally" obtained. We actually had a great conversation and became friends. Later he started his own gold company with some people he met at the other company, and he told me a lot that backed up the press that gold farmers have received.

Their working conditions sucked and those who scammed accounts usually felt pretty bad. His new company, however, was committed to selling world of warcraft accounts gold that had been farmed legitimately. There may be a realm transfer here and there, but that was paid out of profits. He also told me that the employees there were treated really well comparatively and worked good hours. He was a good man, and I bought from him for my last transaction. It was slower, about a day or two, but I got my gold and he threw in some extra since I stuck with him and his new company. His website was also very good, giving me more peace of mind. It didn't have crap all over it, it was clean and polished, and didn't throw any errors or exceptions when I accessed the page on my browser.

I personally think Blizzard's method sucks, but I'm glad it's there. It's not the EULA I care about in regards to farming (don't get me started on game industry EULAs) but the workers and the means of obtaining. This guy provided a good service with good employment, and I was happy to buy world of warcraft accounts from him. Could he have lied to me all along? Sure, but it was just kind of one of those feelings, like you know someone is okay and being really honest with you. (We had A LOT of conversations, a couple a week for like, 6-8 months!) So, I support companies like THAT who get gold in legitimate ways and TECHNICALLY sell their time (but really, they're selling gold) to obtain it, but I'd say it's next to impossible to identify the "good" farmers. I got lucky. For everyone else, though, just don't buy gold. If you wanna do the Blizzard route, go ahead, but that's the only money that should change hands.

In the Mists beta, I've enjoyed very quick money-making, and I think a lot of the "need" I had to buy gold once upon a time has gone. I haven't bought any since Cataclysm came out, and I won't buy again. I just don't need to anymore. It's not worth my money, actually.