Or if like in early DAoC, items had a finite lifetime (each time you repair them, some non-repairable stat drops slowly, once it needs to be repaired at 0%, that's it, item is now gone), and the entire item economy were refocused around that. If the "best" melds also cost a fortune by comparison, then since items don't live forever, using "good enough" melds (and items!) becomes a very real thing.