Actually that's just the start of it.

There are loads of little short events that can give you gear throughout the RP, and gear rewards for doing sidequests.

If you can't use the gear you got, you can always check in with the Gear Trader as you can trade in unique gear for one of their selection.

Also that being said, when you trade in that piece of gear, it does not get lost. It simply becomes part of the selection, so if someone gets something you want, you can arrange to trade that item in so that they can trade to get it.