Not for your new player, who is basically depositing $20 a month, and is TTing most loot.
The reduced markup is likely paying for the stability in TT costs.
At some point the old community here must concede that they are actually in the minority, when it comes to both population and size of monthly investment. Holding massive CLD and land areas as well, they largely live off payouts. There are some who still deposit, but they are getting fewer and further between.
The game is catering to new players. Brand new. Their focus has been for the last 18 months on improving the new player experience. It's no coincidence that during this time we see things like shrapnel, markup plummeting across the board, etc.
The 2000 or so active old players right now are taking a hit so that 20,000 new players can come on board, and stay.
Ultimately this is for the best. EU has been steadily declining in population until 2013, when this strategy was adopted. Now it is increasing.
We have to face the facts. MA realized their strategy was no longer working. It became outdated after the financial crash of 2008. They had to either change the way their game functioned to reflect current economics, or face the prospect of shutting down their servers, likely this year.
Glad they decided to change it up. How about you?