forget admin or player regulation, it would just be a headache for whom ever had to do it.
just find a way to prevent purchase of a ship based on how many hours of playtime a character has?
relatively speaking, anyone can power trade their way to enough funds to buy just about anything. What if it were not as simple as just having the funds? what if characters had to spend X hours in game before being able to buy a transport or gunboat, Y to buy a Cruiser or bomber, Z to buy a battle-cruiser or battleship?
couldn't just "make a battleship character" from nothing on a whim, you would have to have a character with enough hours to do it, or buy one from another player.
