I think ffxiv 1.0 at release is a great example of a game trying to be too different for its own good. Oh... other games have auction houses that are easy and convenient to use? well we want to be different and create an overly complicated system with tons of problems that we don't have solutions to.

As one of the OP said, people are obsessed with "unique" and different", but at the end of the day, certain things work for these kind of games, and certain things don't. Use the things that work, add a little FF flavor, and enjoy.