Finally!!! A game developer who gets it!!
"Cauldron of Jordan
Shortly after you begin your adventure, you'll be provided with a useful little artifact: the Cauldron of Jordan. The cauldron allows you to skip trekking back to town when the time comes to sell your loot. After you obtain the Cauldron, you can reduce virtually any item in your inventory to gold, just as if you had sold it to a vendor. Gold can do a lot of things for you in Diablo III, from purchasing artisan services to repairing your damaged gear to buying shared stash slots. There's more than one way to get value from loot though, which brings us to the other handy tool you’ll have at your disposal."
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/3435571#blog