To paraphrase a Dutch saying, "anything is worth what a fool is willing to give". :-)
A few years ago, I paid $170 for an HP-67. Maybe I spent more than I had to, but I really wanted one, and I could afford to spend that amount... I'm happy, and I suspect the seller is, too.
The HP-42S is the subject of many discussions on this forum, and the prevalent opinion appears to be that it is the best keystroke-programmable RPN calculator ever made. (Maybe that's exaggerating things, but not by much.) Even so, given the fact that calculators like the HP-50g cost only $150 or so, brand new, and also considering the fact that most of the tasks that people used to use calculators for are done using cheap laptop and desktop PCs nowadays, spending $500 on an HP-42S seems extreme... It's certainly more than the calculator is worth in any practical sense, but we're all human, and sentiment (nostalgia?) is always a factor. And of course, there's always good old-fashioned insanity. Again my Dutch compatriots seem to know something about that; if you haven't heard of it yet, you may be interested to read about the 17th century Tulip Mania.
I suspect the HP-42S craze may turn out to be just another market bubble... But I'm NOT selling mine. :-D
- Thomas