Similar to real life, items need a sink and way for them to disappear. Gear binding after use, means you can NOT sell used items. In real life, stuff that gets used break down and eventually become tossed out and exit the economy, or they are consumed like food products, soaps, paints, etc. So with gear binding all this means you can't have used item market, and I doubt people are too upset if they don't have to deal with the used item dealers (think used car dealers.) So getting rid of gear binding will mean your stuff can't be repaired forever and needs to wear out. Between that and gear binding, I think player will be happier to deal with gear-binding because they choose when the items exit the economy.