That being said (and this is one of my favorites), people are starting to PL account characters and then selling them for money as a form of gold farming.
What proof is there of this? And who in their right mind would buy a character if it's so easy to level one on your own?

I get PLing is a great way to get your friends into FFXIV but is it any better then just letting people get to 50 quickly on their own?
There's not even a dead horse to beat any more. You're just sort of pounding sand at this point.