I usually try to be straightforward, informative, and reasonable whenever I contact anyone on this concern, pointing out identical products, and the current trends.
When you enter the avenue of true collectible items, pricing becomes more abstract. I have been contacted about my own pricing in the past, by people looking for a bargain. One good example were some TRON joysticks, that I was selling (new, old stock) for £200. (One of those items that no-one has, that you may never again see for sale.)
People would write me and offer me 1/10th of my list price, trying to argue that it was too much, when all the while, I was selling them without complaint at the listed price. (They compared my pricing to that of used, not-even-refurbished units.)
If ten other people were selling them at 1/10th my price, also new stock, not reproduction, or refurbished, I would concur, but when I am the only person with the inventory, and people are happy to pay the price, then it is still reasonable, no-matter how hight it may be. That's basic economics.
If someone was selling a sealed Bondi iMac, they could ask whatever they wanted; while for a used unit, boxed, they could ask a reasonable price; and for a loose unit, they would get fair market value, and not a penny more.
One major misconception is that Apple HW holds its value, indefinitely. This used to be closer to the truth, before Apple abandoned PowerPC, for PPC systems, and for M68K systems, before Apple abandoned them. As soon as Apple shifted to the Intel architecture, all PPC prices plummeted. This applies to their enterprise market equipment as well, for as soon as they cancelled their XServe line, the prices for all XServe equipment fell down to earth.
People look at a system for which they paid $10,000, and hope to sell it for half that price, when it is worth 1/20th of that price at present, following the old belief that all Apple systems retain at least half of their original price in value, at all times. While that may have been true at one time, when the Performa series was hot stuff, 'tisn't anymore.
Sickening though it may be, a fully populated XRAID is now about £200!
In fact, most Apple systems made today have a three-to-four year lifespan, which greatly diminishes the chance of them holding a value for the long-term, and no new system should be considered a wise investment. If you expect to profit from an Apple system, expect it to be through good, solid work, and no later resale, to recuperate part of your original purchase price. For this reason alone, I no longer buy any new Apple systems. My last new system was a G5.
