It all depends on the grind. You don't want to make it too easy, but you also don't want to overdo it.

We already need anywhere from 1-4 skins to make 1 piece of leather, which by itself does nothing, it's just a component of a bigger craft. The 4 skins and 1 alumen you need to make that one leather, is by most standards, fine. Add to that 7 crystals, which serve no purpose other than make it a little more final fantasy-ish (because crystals) was a really weird choice. You are more than doubling the amount of items needed in most cases for no clear reason. This has always been a weird addition to crafting in xiv.

I find resistance to this sort of thing odd. I mean, removing something that no one would even notice if it didn't exist to begin with and has no real purpose outside of adding a needless time sink and expense to something that is already a time sink and expensive takes nothing away from crafting.