As you go up in level crafting becomes more and more the accepted norm. Most people I know getting into their B grade / A grade equipment usually save up and craft themselves. It is a bit of a pain (gathering all the mats. Buy shops and manor help alot), but you can save millions doing it yourself.
What is the rate on materials for crafting? Are they only mob dropped items? If so are they rare drops or common drops?
Effectively, there are three ways to get materials, listed here in decreasing rate of materials acquisition:
* Manor - the best way to get the common materials (materials used in multiple different crafts). However, the limit here is for your level, there are probably only 5 or 6 types of seed you can do, so you're limited a bit. You may need to sell one mat to buy another. I know the low-level crafted leather seeds were fantastic for us, especially as all robes and light armor are about 90% crafted leather. Anyone can use the manor.
* Spoil - a decent way to get materials, and a very good way to get key items (an item unique to one particular craft) and recipes. Only Scavengers/Bounty Hunters can spoil.
* Drop - mediocre to low drop rates on most mats/key items.
I would like to also point out that craft does become slightly more dificult as you progres into higher grades because the base mats become alot more dificult to obtain.
But any mat lvl 6 or below is usually fairlly easy to craft.
Armor, weapons, jewls can be more dificult to craft as u move up in grades.
Ex.: S grade being very dificult to craft due to its short suply.
I would like to also point out that craft does become slightly more dificult as you progres into higher grades because the base mats become alot more dificult to obtain.
Well, the manor becomes better too. The manor between levels 65-75 can give you VOP, Mith Alloy, CBP, DMP, etc. directly. Took two days (or maybe three) for my friend and I to manor about 90% of the cost of our A jewels (we needed 14 total crafts to succeed and get our 10 jewelry pieces).
I rather think that your question requires two different answers.
The so-called "base mats" are not at all rare. The drop rates, depending upon mob, are reasonably high. In other words, you can get a fair amount of iron ore, silver nuggets, animal skins, etc. Just from hunting alone.
Obviously you can spoil these same too! For instance, an artisan or scavi can spoil animal bones from the bears outside of gludin and the lesser basilisks in Wastelands pretty regularly--increasing the number you get of that type of 'base mat'.
Finally, any toon can 'seed' and 'harvest' a base mat through the manor with the right seed at the right level.
Particular or "special component" mats drop much less frequently--and usually less frequently the higher you go!
If you want a 'brig helm design" (you need a number of those to craft a brig helm) they drop infrequently. I killed 182 karul bugbears outside of Hunters Village the other day and got one (1).
Same with "devine stocking design", "blades--for all the d,c,b,a weapons", etc.
They drop infrequently.
Even for a relatively 'low' craft, you usually need a lot of 'base mats' (fairly common/easily obtained at low levels), and at least a few 'component mats' (less easy/frequent).
Same is true for higher crafts I've encountered so far---you can either buy or craft intermediate mats for a B-grade sword or make those at 'u-craft-shops' from your own (or purchased) base mats. In other words, you can farm varnish of purity or make varnish of purity or buy varnish of purity--which is one intermediate component needed in the recipe (for instance). Perhaps what ur making takes 'artisan molds'--again, you can make them from collections/recipe of base mats, buy them, or farm them (but that will take awhile).
Don't know that I'v answered your original question any more fully.
The term 'mats' applied to crafting doesn't just mean one thing imo.