It's actually not THAT expensive after the most recent patch. While fully melded crafted artisans to have the highest stats may be expensive, if you buy the Ixali gloves, and just fully meld the level 55 accessories you should be able to get turn in items for level 70 tools and artisan gear. Do that to gear up, then aim for the level 75 and 90 tools. With all that, you should be able to have decent enough stats to make some money, and work on replacing your turn-in artisan's with crafted artisans