You are right,but I look at it the other way. The Highway ONES came out with a $700 retail, and people paid it out of ignorance.
I have a 1. Great bass. Light, resonant, plays well. The Ones I have played were great too. The "upgrades" were primarily geared towards cosmetics and marketing, although some will disagree. Really, the upgrades were about the opportunity to bump the price. Are they worth the price increase? That is subjective.
I know exactly what you are saying .. but if we break it down, we can see that it may be a bit more than 'cosmetics', at least on the parts market ...
Although I prefer the threaded saddle bridge on the Hwy 1, it will currently bring about $20-25 on the used market ... the BAII's that I had and chose to replace, each brought over $100, one I sold went for just under $150 ... the neck on the Hwy 1 was in essence a MIM Standard neck, with 'Made in USA' written on it ... in a knowing market, that should fetch at top dollar about $175-200 ... the Highway ONE neck was the comparable to that on the American Series, and in some cases, the current American Standards ... I have seen these sell for $3-400, unloaded in some cases ...
.. those two items, were probably the most significant difference in the two models, and in terms of secondary market values they equate to about $2-300 or more ... and, with with adding the 'upgraded' Hwy ONE at its price point, it has resulted in the Hwy 1's, such as you have you have, not only holding their value, but actually selling for in some cases hundreds more than originally sold for new ...unfortunately, it also becomes a matter of confusion to the less informed public that is also driving up the prices on the used, original Hwy 1's ... which as you say, were great basses ... as they were being discontinued, I paid around $400 for some brand new, and now about $500 seems to be the minimum selling price for a new one, and as I mentioned in my earlier post, I have seen some go on Ebay up over $700 ...again, in part as a result of the confusion, and lack of the publics awareness ...
.. all of this, unfortunately creates an ideal opportunity for those out there that take advantage of the situation as we see happening in the OP of this thread ... nice basses, but at $6-900 ?? ... not IMHO ...
... hopefully threads like this will enlighten the TB visiting folk , and help at least one or two to make a more informed decision with their music gear funds ... JMHO
