Quote Originally Posted by scarebearz View Post
You obviously know little about crafting, no non-50's would even be trying to craft 2 star items. (Or have the stats to even try)

For other lower level items, yeah you are probably correct, but that's not what I was talking about.
But this thread isn't discussing 2 star items, at least not specifically. It's discussing how the market works in general for crafted items. (You're the only one here to have even mentioned 2 star items, and that sounded more like an example than an indication of the scope of the discussion.)

For levels 1-49, people buying mats are presumably those who want to level their crafting, or perhaps just craft something for their own use, when they don't feel like taking the time to do their own gathering as well. They'll often be willing to pay a premium for that convienience by spending more on the materials than the finished products are worth.

At level 50 the incentive changes, as you no longer need crafting XP, but the economics aren't all that different. Mats still tend to be expensive because there's still relatively fewer people taking the time to gather them. For some players, that doesn't matter. They still want the convienience of being able to craft without gathering so they can make gear for themselves or their friends. For those trying to make a profit at it, however, they're going to have a hard time doing so if they're paying a premium for the convienience of avoiding the gathering part of crafting.