Trying to buy Nikon Coolscan V on Ebay

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Here's my problem.

I want to buy a Nikon Coolscan V. The cheapest new one I can find is
$519 at BUY.COM. With a $20 Off coupon and free shipping, the total is
$499. Not a bad price really.

I went on Ebay expecting to find a decent used one for 1/2 to 2/3 the
price of a new one (roughly $250-$350). What I found is people bidding
the price of used ones to near $500 and sometimes over!

So much for finding decent used gear at reasonable prices on Ebay. My
guess is these are foreign people who are willing to bypass their local
currency, taxes, duties and tariffs.

This has been going on for months now so it's not a seasonal thing.
I've come to the point where my only option is to buy a new one, scan
in all my slides and negatives, then sell it on Ebay.

Anyone else notice this problem? I guess it's only a problem for
buyers, not for sellers!