I think their quests are fine.

I actually never look at individual quest payouts because as others have mentioned, the amulets make up for any immediate shortfall, and when other quests are done I always - always - come out with a net positive.

I'm a little baffled why anyone declines any quest given the sheer amount of profit quests give (in total) these days.

I also don't really understand why so many focus exclusively on sP payouts. Quentin and Alexander quest rewards are fantastic in terms of resale value.

What I've noticed before is usually around this time of the year is when those items asked for go up in price. Ornaments and holiday items aren't flooding the market. Things usually won't drop until the holiday season starts up. These quests are usually cheapest during Lumi and a few months after.