Getting enough of this, I changed it in my games a year ago. Also cost's of some everyday products like food is lowered a bit, while good weapons, good armour and such got a raise. The armour values of players have gone down though, good armour costing, as it does, but it's only good, considering how bad armour all monsters have. All the weapons are made to use, not to be pretty. If one wants an pretty one it will cost extra.
Excellent weapons are better than normal.
They also tend to look better than normal. Barbed, heavier or something. The bonuses are not magical. Hard leather is boiled in oil and moulded for the user. Flexible and rigid are determined by the workmanship.