There should be a way to sell off any gear to other players. Given that gear is lvl (and in some cases class) specific, what's the issue? The high demand / short supply of some of the gear and items in this game would push up prices - so you would need to grind quite a bit anyway to afford the winning auction price. If anything, it would compensate for some if the deficiencies in the loot system. It would definitely allow players missing a few special items to progress.