Let me begin by saying that a pricing system based on nothing but the star rating of any item is a truly inconsistent, NONSENSICAL way to value both materials and equipment, as star rating has little to do with actual usefulness, rarity, and public demand. Near as I can tell, this practice seems to have originated from the same one or two threads in the earliest life of the game in which people were trying to hammer out some sort of material price consistency, and everyone and their dog has seen it. The more we can do to steer people away from believing the formula " STAR# = X Cost," the better!

My system is simple. I simply count in the going crown rates for energy, and take the CE cost of the item into account. Then I add in the direct crown cost. Then, I figure in my own estimation of what the materials are actually worth on the "market."

Now, this is where some extra thought goes into it. If I didn't have to invest time in grinding up a previous version of equipment to 5* or 10*, and if I'm dealing with mats that I have a ton of and I don't feel like I have the time/patience/likelihood to be able to get individual buyers for the mats, I just sell the premade at cost. I consider it a sale of the mats, at that point, which is technically a profit. I've just made some of my net wealth more liquid. I cover the CE and crown cost of the alchemy, figure in the mat value, and just sell it. It's worth it to me for some items, especially easy-to-craft ones. Stone Tortoise is a good example.

Why would I do this? The trade channel as it exists now is a bloody PAIN To use. 10 premades using 5 gel cores each is often easier to push on the public than the 50 gel cores individually. Sad but true. If I just figure in what I'd sell those cores at anyway when used in an item, it's as if I just sold the cores.

If I have to do some clockworks runs to level an item up, I figure in the energy I had to use in doing so, plus a little extra for my own time and boredom. Maybe 5k-10k an hour, depending on how much other stuff I actually managed to profit off of in the course of those runs, and the overall value of the item.

Rarer, more sought-after items with materials that I could easily dispense of at a good profit on all on their own .... those, I might consider a markup on just because of the demand for the item .... this is the only time I'd ever consider a generic amount based on stars. The markup on a 4* item might be 5k, a 3* item might be 3k, a 2* item may be 2k .... you get the picture.

UVs are an entirely different story. If it's a UV that's worth having even remotely, it's generally simpler to denote the price in CE, as I've seen most people doing. Pricey stuff, only for the elite. :P