99.00 GBP would appear to be a really good deal-especially with everything included and of course, depending on the condition of the unit.
I actually stopped pricing the J720's just after Christmas. I think the prices have dropped for J720's significantly in 2006-both in the US and Britain. After my 5 year old J690 died in November 2005-I started looking for a replacement
(not one but enough parts so I wouldn't be without my trusty CE device
). I know that in November 2005 I bid-and thank goodness I lost-on a J720 in my own country which sold for $280.00 US. A week later I bought my first J720 for $139.00 US which had obviously been rarely used-then bought a 2nd one-parts fully assembled for a backup to my good J720.
In early January a great package on Ebay for a J728 went for over $500.00 GBP and from the same Seller a package with a mint J720 went for over $200.00 GBP.
After I got my 2nd J720 I stopped pricing the 720's completely-as I discovered the J728's. Other than the J728 mentioned above-they were rarely listed in Britain. There were no 728's listed in Nov or Dec 2005 in the US either. SInce the new year-more J728's have appeared on the market-as well there are many more J720's listed for sale.
Last week the same seller who sold me my 'just arrived mint J728' for $316.00 US had a J720 advertised as mint at a starting bid of $160.00 US and didn't receive a single bid. Right now there seem to be a substantial no. of J720's for sale. Supply, demand-seller feedback dictates the price on Ebay-that is likely why the seller of the J728's in Singapore who had 30
(26 now
) started at $350 US and sold none-now says he only has 5 for sale at $325.00. Last week a seller in US gets $560.00 US for a J728 in "mint" condition. I'll match the J728 I bought 6 days ago for $316.00 US against any other "mint" unit out there-its absolutely perfect-still had the plastic cover on case-but I didn't get the dock-have 3 of them & didn't get a case.
In any event 99 GBP sounds like a great price for a J720-certainly better than the deal I got bidding on the assembled individual parts-cie la vie!-I guess I should have waited for the prices to drop in 2006!
Ebay is no doubt an auction-but more and more people are using it as a reference for market value-why pay more if the same or similar item can be purchased on Ebay for a lower price. Of course, the problem is comparing apples and apples-'same and similar items and accessories'-a comparison just based on price is like comparing apples with oranges!
All the best!
wildbill