Gathering is one of the most simple ways to make gold, it can be done early on in the game and without investing any skill points, so I am going to explain a few ways you can make a good amount of gold from gathering all the natural materials found in the game world.

Raw Materials are more valuable than Processed Materials, yes I know it sounds backwards but you will soon understand why…
You are more likely to sell Iron Ore than Iron Ingots because a player with the right skill points invested can extract more materials and gems from it, as well as get most of the Ingots.

Gather Everything
While exploring and questing through the area, make sure to gather as many raw goods as you can, this includes Metal Ore, Fibrous Plants, Hide Scraps and Logs, those are the primary types of raw materials that crafters typically pay well for.

But that doesn’t exclude alchemy plants, although not all of them are valuable — some can fetch a nice price such as Columbine going for 150 to 250 gold each (although prices vary), installing the Master-Merchant add-on isn’t mandatory, but it will help in deciding on good prices to sell your Raw Materials.

Enchanting Runes found in the world can also offer decent value, especially the red “Aspect” runes which typically give a cheap “Ta” (8g) rune, but occasionally a Jejota (60g), Denata (150g), Rekuta (700g) or Kuta (4000g) — these Aspect Runes can also be found at any level, and are used even by Veteran Enchanters.

Selling your Raw Materials
You should never try to sell less than 20 of a certain Raw Material, you’re much less likely to find a buyer. Be sure to stock up on the item, preferably closer to 100 units that you can sell in a stack. Once ready to sell, advertise in zone chat such as “Selling 100 Iron Ore for 1500g” and it shouldn’t take too long to find an interested blacksmith, and this goes for clothing and woodworking materials as well.

Plants are a little harder to find buyers for, and harder to stack in bulk amounts. I recommend finding a decent size Trading Guild that you can set these items up for sale in. They should sell if priced accordingly, even in small amounts.

Remember that this game has a free market, and prices may vary at any time between players being different zones and levels — so you’re more likely to sell for higher prices in areas with Veteran Players such as your factions capital.