I bought my 7mm XW a few months ago from OPT. It only cost me AU $340 in total including the $40 shipping.
I had it delivered inside 7 days, beautifully packaged. They were a pleasure to do business with. I purchased from them after asking John Bambury (Ausastronomer) if their service was reputable and he had no hesitation in recommending them.
I agree, the $700+ price tag is incredible! It was a no brainer to get it from the U.S.
The XW10's brand new sell for around $500. Early last year, the second hand market for XW's had them selling at $350 as pretty much a standard price for them. I bought my XW10 second hand for $330 (thanks Liz
). Then the dollar started working in our favour which meant you could buy them brand new from the U.S. at the same price of a second hand one.
And I have to add... it's worth every single penny I spent.
You won't have any problems with this eyepiece: sharp to the edges, excellent contrast, pin point stars, adjustable eye cup, focuses beautifully, 20mm eye relief, and the most comfortable eyepiece I have- I can observe with the XW's all night long.
The only reason I never went for one in a 14mm or 20mm was due to problems it inherently has with fast scopes (which I have).