1) crafters make like six million jillion of those lower-level items. No one's making money of them
2) the price reducitons are not that drastic
3) the price reductions are in line with the cutbacks in gil rewards from levequests. Most newbie players look for NPC vendors to buy their early gear, hence why they should be more affordable.

Crafters are not being screwed by this. Not every item is available on the NPCs, and just as with the combat classes, the real oppertunity for success is in the higher levels, not the lower ones.