I did the grind on crp without any leves whatsoever, i lost more gil doing the lower level stuff on shards than anything else. From the time i hit lv 40 til the time i hit lv 50 i had made 2.2 million npc'ing items made from ingredients from the market wards, about 1 million from cobalt arrows, also from the market wards, and used some of that for the top level dated masks i could make. overall i netted money easily in the last "longest" levels by just paying attention to what i make and what time of day i try to sell them. Alot of crafts have similar options, obviously not all as lucrative, but effective nonetheless and close to break-even synthing. DoH also has the option of talkin to DoL people who are looking to sell their items faster and cheaper to save the trouble of having it on the wards. Will they all do it? no. but there are enough to give you a steady supply. DoH has to play the economy game from all aspects to avoid situations like the one you've run into, but that is part of the fun for me, personally. For this same reason, enjoyment of the total system, i don't think each class should be able to meld. i'd like to see it kept how it is now for materia.