I understand a lot of people simply don't like the extra hassle of what basically is an elaborate 3d auction house. I also miss just walking up to a counter and taking care of all my shopping needs.

What they should do to fix this without totally removing the wards is make it so you do not have to enter the wards to buy items. You still have the option to enter, for instance say you want to 'window shop' for equipment by looking at what different retainers have equipped. But if you know what you want, and it's in many different wards, it would be great if we could just simply buy the items 'remotely' from the menu outside the wards.

Also: add price history, prease!