The benefits of crafting are that you get a crafted item. Typically this means you get items you normally couldn't get your hands on, get items in greater quantities than you normally could, or save a lot of money. I don't craft in D:OS (I hate crafting systems in RPGs almost universally), but if those three elements aren't present I'd argue that's the problem they need to fix. Making it about accumulating experience turns crafting into a means to an end other than itself. Crafting should be about getting items, not getting experience.
But that's the thing: You do not enjoy crafting. Persons who do are a different breed.
The one thing you do not think of is MONEY. Crafting is important, because it gives you a fair way to make money in an RPG. Gather, craft, sell. Otherwise, You might as well just turn roque when you run out of it, and steal EVERYTHING (like in Ultima VII).
