I am happy with the current repair option as it solved the huge problem we previously had of: no inventory to store all the many types of possible repair materials, the low availability of some of those materials, and the matter of finding a crafter able to do the repair itself who also happened to have the needed repair item on hand. Now every crafter can easily obtain the needed items for any repair.

The real problem now is the availability of non-vendor dark matter. I very much agree that this should be somewhat easier to obtain through alternatives to the vendor. Right now you can get dark matter via other sources, but the drop rates seem to be too low. The vendors should still be available to provide the easiest method to obtain dark matter, and the high cost should reflect that ease. If more players are able to obtain dropped or even crafted versions of dark matter, then the bazaars would reflect (eventually) lower prices, once there was enough stock accumulated.

I think adding a way to craft dark matter would be a good idea - and it would allow those players who did enjoy crafting their own repair materials a way to continue to do so.