Why not increase the crowns given by vendors per star of the material. This will raise the floor on the net worth of materials.

From what I've noticed, most people who complain about energy prices don't even factor in the income from selling materials,

With few exceptions, the only reason why materials are worth more than what the NPCs pay is because the vast majority of players don't try to sell them at the AH. Vastly more materials come out of the clockworks after each run than are needed to make most items, and people don't make a new item every time they make a run through the clockworks. (Yeah, you don't get the exact matierals needed each time, but after you have accumulated enough, you can, on average, make a new item every time, if you had the need.)

The same thing goes for reselling recipes and crafting items for a profit. There is only a profit if the vast majority of players don't do it.

Personally I believe selling materials isn't even worth it. Only one or two mats even goes for more than 5k each. I am probably off because I am not the person who checks the auction house every 10 minutes for mat prices.