I spent years--years--scraping together the mediocre gears I have now. Being forced to start over from scratch at this point, whether on Renewal or Classic, would be the surest way to get me to quit this game for good. Especially since some of these gears I or one of my friends actually spent real money on.
To go back to the original point, there's pretty much nothing that can be done to make me switch to Classic at this point. The dearth of forthcoming updates is unappealing, plus I have no desire to leave behind the characters and gear I worked so hard on in Chaos. There's also the very real fact that the server is too small and PvM is practically dead; the few times I played around on Classic I saw very few other players, and those I found all seemed to be AFK or otherwise unwilling to talk to me. Coupled with the difficulty inherent in trying to get a good financial foundation by yourself in any MMO, it's a very hostile environment to try to start out in.
I seem to recall several nearly identical threads on these very forums in the past; perhaps Classic players would do better to advertise on other gaming forums rather than continue nagging Renewal players to switch sides.