My second set (Paragon), well, I got a bit lucky on that. Right when the Asura minis came out, I found someone very desperate for one and they offered me 130 ectos for it. I wasn't about to say no to that deal.

My third and probably final set (Mesmer) was from DOA runs and powertrading. I either turned all my gems into Armbraces or sold the gems outright and made enough $$$ for all the materials.