What can I say? I lost one Empeg auction because my cable modem went out just before the end. I was absolutely determined not to lose the next one.

And the fellow who bought the $700 unit was the same person who ran the price up to $820 on me (having checked bid histories). I suspect that the average price will decrease again as I'm fairly certain the two of us were just extremely stubborn and determined purveyors.

I believe that the auctioneers, some of whom clearly made a run on Empegs during the fire sale at the beginning of the year, are safely leaking these on the market at the rate of about one a week or so. By minimizing competition, they are guaranteeing themselves larger sales by reenforcing the perception of the scarcity of these devices.

As was said elsewhere in the thread, still cheaper than buying it new from before the fire sale. Well worth it.