Neatness worth it?

[Zechnophobe]

It is fairly worth it for a Mage actually. You will not likely get more runes out of it than you will spend on it, but you will get a whole lot of crystals. Just the first point of neatness will give you likely 100 extra magic crystals or more. Every see those crappy 500 gold level items, like the straw hat, or basic boots? Buy them and destroy them for 2 crystals (One more than normal). Cheapo level 2 items become 4 crystals, and level 3's are 5 to 6. Otherwise you'd just get one.

It really helps you max out a lot of spells you otherwise would never have the chance to upgrade, and is once again especially useful for a mage who will get level 3 in all schools of magic.