weapon prices in EU have historically been a reflection of their ROI.
to cite a key example. at the end of loot 1.0 a high-tiered IMK2 was selling for 350k+ (early 2017)... then by early 2019 that same IMK2 was selling for 65k (i bought one from jak). about 6 months later, in late 2019, MA introduced the new mayhem token system and GG broker items. The imk2 i had sold to shilda for 95k, and now, 3 years later, would fetch 150k+ given the recent t6 sale for 135k.
Equipment in entropia is only worth its ability to produce. most people are short-sighted and don't think about future opportunities when planning their gear setup and play time. that's what sets the winners apart from the losers on a margin-to-margin basis (excl. playtime).
(player A): the shortsighted player is telling themselves "mod nanos are gone, lp100s are gone, bp110s about to be gone, bc80s gone, etc... so my ability to profit is much lower and now i don't want to play/my gear is worth less than 6 months ago." -- this player isn't wrong, but they're foolish.
(player B): the long-game player is telling themselves "okay MA gave us a lvl 150+ blade in the broker, new best-in-slot weapon for grinders, but they didn't refill bc80, bp70, or lp100... we're probably going to get even higher level weapons around TWEN or sooner, i should get the best gear i can now and start stacking tokens and working on looter levels."
i was player A for many years in terms of hunting. bought and sold gear at nearly the worst times, and never committed to anything. Consequently i never made money.
As player B i've managed to make 135k in profits since HWM (realized), have over 400k in gear, storage full of stuff, and was able to pull a broker weapon. This is all despite getting slaughtered by FFA and all with a total net deposit amount of 286,000 ped. it's not always pretty, but never underestimate what a scarce, best-in-slot weapon can do for a dedicated player.