There are extraordinary prices asked for lots of things, but what they actually sell for is often another matter. I like long and short refractors and for light gathering a 20" f5 Obsession dobsonian. I agree short tube refractors are convenient to move, easier to mount, give nice wide fields, and suited to photography. High power viewing with a short tube often means using short focal length eyepieces and focusing is in a very narrow band. Long refractors are to me like V8's, they are lazy and idle along giving high power views with longer focal length eyepieces than a short tube. Focusing is less critical, and depth of field seems greater. Field of view is narrow though and they need a good mount and tripod.
F15, F16 scopes from the 1960's and 1970's are pretty cheap, you get a mount, tripod, eyepieces, and telescope for the cost of a modern 1 1/4" or 2" eyepiece. And, they look like a telescope
Mark