I'd prefer craftable - if you have enough loyalty with the Meer, or the Juka, you use some of it as a favour to ask them how to make their stuff (slight issue for crafters getting the points for loyalty, since as usual it all seems to based on killing stuff rather than actually helping anyone...) - maybe it could be done through 'recipes' for crafters that the fighters can get and trade or sell.
Failing that, though, I'm not convinced the timers being removed would create a big problem with scamming. I've always wondered why timers on expiry made the item vanish - if the item remained behind, but worthless as anything other than deco, I honestly can't see an issue. The system to let that happen exists - it's used on 'honesty' items for when their 'reward period' is over. Quite why it doesn't apply everywhere I really can't quite understand.