I did it once just to see what would happen and that's what happened. I don't need gold or items though, so it's not like I whore myself out to make money on WoW. It was more of a social experiment.

However, if you were starting a new character on a server you don't play on already, it would be a really good way to get started off. I probably had like 50g after I was done, a bunch of cloth for low levels, random gears and lots of different colored shirts to wear. It really was surprising.