Well!

As for Phoenix, pretty much any and every crafter gives free melds. I haven't found one that would charge for it yet.
Replica allagan gear (and even the 220 crafted stuff) is going for 1.5~ mil, 2.5~ mil at the most (nq).

Most people I've met have been friendly. It's rare that I can't engage in conversation with someone idling, so that's always nice!