You did need some place to spend the ridiculous amounts of credits you "earned" throughout the game.
Hell, the first time I played through, and I didn't know about the special crystals, and I did just fine. I think I only visited Yavin once and didn't buy anything from there. I hoarded all of my credits for some reason.
I say give the powerful items. If you want them, they are available, and if you don't want them, then don't buy them.