A suggestion I'm sure many will hate more than bone glue for cupboards ever could.
But how about make Mental Weight & Experience Cost for curios increase with their Q? I know this seems to be a nerf and would slow things down, but aside from the obvious fact that it would apply to everyone, not just *you*, there is currently no trade off in the curiosities.
Bigger numbers = Better
It's a boring and mindless system that only helps the big botting factions who can pump out the biggest numbers. There is literally NO reason to buy from the hermit. Two parties could put in the exact same time and effort into making curios, but if 1 party started a week earlier, then they are simply the better option.
Not to suggest that mental weight & EXP cost would go into the hundreds, but rather a small amount, encouraging a bit of a trade off when considering Curiosities to study of different Quality. I find it a little funny that while the LP increases, the other factors don't. Each curio could also have their own unique increasing amounts, some items may have their Mental Weight rise faster than others, some their EXP cost.
Of course this wouldn't a problem at all for someone with high Intelligence and EXP. Currently there isn't much of a reason to raise your Intelligence beyond a certain point due to the stagnant Mental Weight of curiosities.