Don't forget your retainers as well, they can go out and gather things that you can turn around and sell for a nice profit. There isn't a need to do end game crafting to still turn a profit, it just requires more work to have a large return. There are certain items that I craft the NQ version of that sell for 15-20k each at 0 cost to me since my retainers bring me everything I need. I found that the rate they bring me the mats is solid enough that I'm not flooding the market with those items and it keeps the price stable.