When I first bought a telescope a few years ago, I found a decent one for $200. Then when I got back into using telescopes again in the last month, I was amazed to see forum threads on the internet suggesting I spend $500 on a new telescope. I know that inflation has increased the price of everything, but it amazes me to see the disparities. I think some hobbies evolve considerably as the technology involved evolves on its own. This definitely happened with music performance equipment over the last 40 years. Nowadays you can sync up all of your instruments in a live performance so they’re all playing on the exact same beat. The types of synthesizers that you can purchase under $1,000 in today’s world make the same category pale in comparison several decades ago. I know that heating and cooling technology has evolved considerably as well. When I was a kid, if you wanted an air conditioner for a small space and didn’t want to buy a central HVAC system, the choices were fairly limited at the time. My parents had a window air conditioner in our house when I was growing up. Nowadays you can buy ductless mini split air conditioners for the same size spaces that are effective and efficient, but they cost as much as 10 times or more money as a similarly performing window air conditioner with the same BTUs. When you look at the price differences like that, it’s hard to justify spending the money on the ductless mini split.