leatherworking for ICC, and being polite

My primary alt is a leatherworker and a skinner. Skinning is mostly useless but I like having it around to convert leather and as a time killer when I'm in the dungeon queue. I do not have a blacksmith, and my tailor is level 65 and therefore doesn't have access to ICC crafting recipes. I hate not having a BS but I am disinterested in leveling another character before Cataclysm, so for now I can only /sigh whistfully at my guildies selling crafted boots (apparently they just fly off the shelves).

I have become decently adept at using my leatherworking to make money - no small task, since it is often labeled the worst money-maker of the gear-making professions. I don't craft leg armors, because I find them tedious to sell. Instead, I have always specialized in crafting high-end raiding gear. Through most of ToC I sold wrists and some chest pieces for great profit, but recently I've found them to be too difficult to move. Same with Ulduar recipes - I used to make a decent 1500g profit off of leather belts but the last one I crafted took a month to sell. So what do I focus on now?

• BOOTS!
  I sell 1-2 ICC boots a week - on high-traffic nights (Tuesday and Sunday) I've even sold out of all my boots in the span of an hour. I keep one of each in stock with spare mats to craft more if necessary. Since I am the only person selling these items on my server, I aim my price higher than that of my blacksmithing brethren. BS boots cost approximately 4k to make and sell for 5k-5.5k. My boots also cost approximately 4k to make, but in trade I sell for 5.5k flat out, and in the AH they are listed for 5.7k bid and 6k buyout.
  
  About half of the sales I make are through a bid. Make sure your bid is an acceptable price to you, because I guarantee you, people will bid in an effort to save that 300 gold. Make your buyout price your dream price, and the bid price your standard price - you'll never be disappointed.
  
  
• Crafting while sitting around.
  I never link my profession in trade and advertise that I'm crafting. I simply keep an eye on the chat channels and jump to help people who are looking for a LW to make gear. While waiting in a DPS queue this can be up to a 500g profit just for sitting around and clicking "craft." The average tip is 100g-200g.

But what about that other thing in the title today? Polite? Manners? Barf!

To be a good salesperson, you need to be polite. It's a requirement. Even if I get the most obnoxious dude ever trying to argue mat price with me, I am still polite - not only because that dude might bitch in trade if I tear him a new one, but because it's good practice.

Being polite and using a lot of emotes like ^^, :), :D, :3, /hug, /cheer, and so on, will get people to like you and remember you. I've had several instances where even if people turned down my price, they came back later and had me craft or bought from me because they remembered my good attitude.

A little helping of wit doesn't hurt either, especially for deflecting trolls. Someone once tried to pull scare tactics on me, insulting me and saying, "I'm going to post naked goat pictures all over your forums."

"Go for it," I replied, "I love draenei!"

"If a draenei ****ed you, what kind of babies would you have?"

"Why, little trolls with hooves of course."

Surprisingly, this got a chuckle out of them, and they left me alone. So keep a smile on your face and a laugh up your sleeve - in my experience, it's always beneficial.