The problem is that Rendo is tackling this entirely the wrong way-- they are not going after the two main causes of decreased traffic, which are abyssal web design and paltry sales (esp. the neutering of Prime) Bad web design is probably the main and overwhelming reason why so few non-vendor freebies are uploaded to Renderosity, anymore. TPtB don't seem to care, though, and some of the admins don't, either (UVDan probably does, and possibly LPR to a certain degree based on one of his posts)

I am not sure whether or not web design or prime neutering has hurt traffic more-- though I would wager a guess that it is the former.

And admins (to run by TPtB) problem is more than just BAD web design-- it is also the frequency of radical redesigns. I see plenty of people post who are still unaware of for instance, the ability to click "all vendors" then use the drop-down list instead of loading every individual avatar.
I see people who still don't know that you can type a vendor name into the Wishlist search and narrow all products to that vendor. It does not help that the programmers (or is it just one programmer?) are understaffed, underskilled, and overworked, and only return feature functionality or install new features gradually over a period of 6 months. Understand that some of your customers are not tech savvy, do not adapt easily to new designs/workflows, or simply do not have the time to play around with the site and see what they can and cannot do. People are accustomed to certain site features.
It does not help that Rendo puts so many huge banners everywhere. The more clutter you have on the webpage, the harder it is to find important site features such as the "deals" link, search bars, or drop-down menus.

(Also, uh, Hope, maybe you could paste this sentence below to TPtB directly-- a paraphrasing runs the risk of losing the message) I've said this countless times, TPtB, but it is painfully clear, based on many of the major decisions that you have made within the past year, that you are not looking at what the competition is doing-- this is one of the most basic rules for a successful business.
I will bring up the relevant issue of site redesign. None of your competitors overhaul the site design every year. Customers find site redesigns to be confusing, and all adapt to it at different rates. To this day there are forumites who are unable to navigate the site or find some of its features.