Yall forgetting that after moltdown, every account received every coin ever donated not just for gear, but professions, char renames, faction changes, ats etc etc. Most had enough for 1 BIS char and those who didn't got gifts from a lot of people who had more coins that they needed.
"furious set and getting two-shot by somebody at every corner" - sadly that'd be happening especially if you are running solo, on either side. Unless you find a fresh WOTLK server, or one where there's no donations for gear, literally every server will be like this.