Yeah, yeah. There is no question in my mind that ACs are very fine basses, and there is no doubt that they are worth every penny to those who can afford them. And yes, it's simply supply and demand. But, the demand is where the problem is. I think its fueled by GAS, obsessiveness, and hype...none of which are vital to creativity and musicianship, in fact they may be harmful. While an instrument may inspire, the player is still the most important ingredient by far, and if you take out the hype and GAS, any decent instrument should do. I wanted a P-bass, and the quote Jimmy gave me (4k+ for a standard passive 4-string) was, IMO, insane...and I could have afforded it, had I wanted.
If you're talk about collecting, and take making music totally out of the equation, it all makes more sense to me. Now some of us are obsessing down the exact year of Fender they are trying to emulate, and that seems crazy.
Anyway, all this has been discussed in-finitum on talkbass, where GASers abound. So I know my opinions will not be popular, especially in a "bass du-jour club" thread. So be it.