What they could do is tie being able to repair an item to being able to craft it at lvl 1. The way that Rust does repair is my fav. it makes perfect game sense. you can not repair something you don't know how to craft. how could you possibly know how to?
this would still allow you to buy the item above your crafting skill, but you wouldn't be able to repair it yet. that to me feels like a very good trade off that is also realistic.