Is $1600 a high price for that set?  Four matching items, all but the sink in excellent condition—what is the price supposed to be?

Admittedly, any used item is worth only as much as the next buyer is willing to pay.  And of course these old appliances have their own little problems that are not easily solved.  But it’s hard for me to see a set like this and think that it’s overpriced.  I could take $1600 with me tomorrow and come back with a range (only one range, and a ‘moderately priced’ one at that), and it would not work half as well as the surface and wall units in this set.  From my own experience and from what I’ve read on aw.org, refrigerators, dishwashers, and washer+dryers are a tricky business compared to ranges, so maybe that is clouding my judgment here.  But I wouldn’t think twice about spending $1600 on that set.

For comparison, we recently bought an oak wardrobe for our bedroom.  I’ve wanted one for about 20 years, but since it wasn’t something I had to have, I passed up dozens that didn’t appeal to me.  Then last month, we saw one that was perfect for us.  We bought it on the spot.  Objectively, it’s just an old piece of furniture.  If it were 10 years old, we could have bought it for $10.  But it was from the 1920s and really beautiful—not a fine antique by any means, but something you just aren’t gonna find in a store today—so I plopped down the $720 and called it a day.  Even at that price, it was hundreds of dollars cheaper than similar things for sale in any new-furniture store.

That’s the way I feel about my appliances, such as they are.  I’m willing to pay at least as much as a similar new item would cost, and probably more, for most kitchen items.  Maybe my perspective is skewed, but I certainly haven’t regretted any price I’ve paid so far.