I like the above, but I also want to add another thing. As an adventurer I find it a great drag to actually find a Sage. Maybe I'm just bad at it, but I've always dreaded having to travel around regions trying to find them. Even with the current rumours implemented: you're never sure where he went or when he'll get there. Nowadays, I can't really be bothered. If I find an item and see a sage I'll repair it, but searching for one is simply not rewarding at all.
Basically, I think this is a main problem in getting item repaired: it's no fun. Even if someone offers your advy a lot of gold it's still a gamble: you're likely to gain a powerful enemy if you fail to repair the item before it decays.
Of course a few things are good about the current system: I don't mind not having the right items in my inventory, and having to search for them (even if I need to travel a few days to a mountain region). I like how the Sages are fleshed out a little with their own personalities or quircks.
The main thing to adress here would be to make finding sages easier/more fun, by making the chance of success higher. It doesn't have to require less effort, it just needs to be less of a chore. If this can be achieved, more advies will be repairing items. Less items will be lost. The current system could be salvaged, without throwing overboard what we already have.
