Meph, you have a double post going on there.
I vote against a nerf. In my opinion, I think the price=quality ideology is wrong, but has deep roots in iEra. Changing it now would turn players off. Maybe instead the current undesired structure can be used as a skeleton. Maybe those "rare, same-tier" guns can be introduced slowly in the future. Since its all we've known, I've grown accustomed to price=quality.
My only opposition to those "rare" guns are how they are handled now. The pink m4, golden Uzi, etc... They are almost never seen. And if the auction is the place to find them, it's still pay to win. Lame.
Anyway, my answer is no. Nerfing will hurt the game and it's not worth doing to please everyone.