Everyone is freaking out because of the apparent deflation. People started selling things at inflated prices to try and make quick gil at launch. Then they realized the money wasn't rolling in like 1.0, or ffxi, or any other mmo, so they started being more cautious buyers, which drove down prices. The economy is still very new, things haven't balanced out yet. Also the sales tax is monitored by SE and modified as needed. Give it some more time before declaring a fiscal apocalypse.