I like this system because multi-point procurement discourages AH squatting and market playing. Overuse of the AH became a problem in FFXI, where real consumers couldn't get good prices on items because flippers squatted easy 1-point procurement bottlenecks and got to them first, then just marked them up 40%. That is, if they didn't park a bot by the AH to do that for them.

Set your bot in XI to buy all crawler coccoons for 2k, try every 45 seconds. Do it all night long. You wake up with a ton of crawler coccoons. Now you can either sell all those for 3k each because your bot kept everyone else from getting crawler coccoons or you can power level your weaver for cheaper than anyone else can because you caught every reasonably priced coccoon out there.

In XIV you wake up with nothing if you didn't really do any work.

Too many people who want an auction house simply want the right to squat the AH and spam it for their own personal benefit. Not because it's better.