Some things to think about:
Yes, sweat prices are low right now. Yes, sweat gathering may seem quite difficult when you're just starting out. BUT, you are making money for FREE, at the expense of other EU inhabitants who deposit. Those depositing inhabitants will only pay the price that they are willing to part with for the item that they are buying, thus the BUYER sets the price. Think about it, if some guy opened a bread store, and started selling bread for $30 a slice when the current price in the area is $0.20 a slice, and buyers in the area are only willing to pay $0.20 a slice, would he sell any bread? Even more...if the buyers are all able to make their own bread, and they are only willing to pay $0.10 for a slice, then even those who are selling for $0.20 will have to drop their price.
The only cost to you is time spent, AND you gain some very useful skills during the time spent sweating.
It is entirely possible to make it on Calypso without EVER depositing a single cent. However, EU is not a universe that you can master overnight...it is meant to take time. It takes even more time if you don't deposit. If you are bent on making it without ever depositing, and also bent on not selling your sweat for the current market price, try holding onto it for a few months to see if the price goes up. During that time you'll gather a whole lot more sweat, and gain a lot of skills. The markets here do flucuate a lot, just like RL markets. Of course, the price may also fall even more...
If you do a search on the forum, I'm sure you'll find dozens more threads started by people that say sweat gathering is getting harder, or that sweat prices are too low.
Sweating is a free activity that newcomers can do when they arrive on Calypso. Fruit and Dung gathering is another. Exploring is also another. It is not really meant to be something to make a living on though. If sweat gathering is too boring or too difficult for you, then deposit and try out something else, or try offering a service to others to make some PED.
Welcome to Calypso, and good luck!