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I see transactions regarding astronomical gear no different to any other form of commodity transaction.
People trade in publicly listed shares solely for the purpose of hoping to buy low and sell high. The only "value" in shares is their trading value; there is no intrinsic value in a share certificate.
Most businesses (including astronomical vendors) buy wholesale and sell retail. The raison d'etre of their business is to sell items for more than they paid for them. As a society we tolerate this because we as individuals simply do not have the time to source the complex range of items we use and rely upon on a daily basis. That is perhaps the value added that helps us abide the price mark-up.
The value of items can increase over time. Ausastronomer was telling me only yesterday about how the value of Astrophysics refractors can increase over time....he instanced a 7" refractor which originally sold for about $11K, but was later sold for $40K.
The value of a good is never fixed; rather, it reflects the significance that the society or an individual ascribes to it at any particular point in time. Rare items are worth more than common ones. Art works generally appreciate after an artists' passing because suddenly there will be no more; there is a finite limit of items available.
If someone wants to pay me more than what I paid for an item, we are both winning.
I may sound like a rabid capitalist. But these are, as I see them, the objective facts.
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