You haven't seen it but I have. Best in server gear was selling for 20k-25k at a time when people paid 10k for normal 'best' gear. I know because I paid 22k for a best in server +8 Muitaks zhen on SpAwN before epics came out. SpAwN was endgame level at 99 so was my Templar and Dhan. Best accessories for a dekan at the time was Amulets at about 7500 rps each. And THAT was 5 years ago. "+"ing boss drops is something that has only been around for a couple years. Are you going to tell me that stuff like that was cheaper in Jin that had no epics before those '+'ed boss drops showed up? They had no epics or upgrades but the best gear was selling for insane RPS regardless. A cap of 99 would not change player greed sir - i don't care what game you are playing player cap does not change player greed and making a level cap of 99 here would not change that fact. The greedy attitudes would follow players that left Jainus to join that 'old school' server. The best gear would cost the most money and to compete you had better have the best gear.
I already told you what new players do here. The only people that start playing here and expect to compete ad end game right off the bat are returning players. And trust me once those returning players remember what playing here is like they leave just as fast. REAL new polayers start off from the beginning and work their way up as they gather wealth and experience.
Get your facts straight. As someone that has developed private servers over the last couple years I can tell you that you are out to lunch with your reasoning about their longevity. I know why pservers come and go. I've worked with 2 of the most popular ones and know why 100% of them shut down after only running a max of about 2 years. In 100% of the cases it has nothing whatsoever to do with item spawns or level caps. And a solid 50% of them insisted that having an 'old school' Rohan server was the only way the game would survive. Dead Wrong.