Heh - I love reading the old threads. Caveoftreasures can I please put in an order for 10 of your $1600 Queensland Shadows delivered to the ACT! I would honestly take them all (as long as they are complete & working).
I've spent 12 months searching for a Shadow - dodging dealers with "spray can" touched-up machines asking as much as $5k while trying to find a half-decent privately-held machine around the $3k mark. I saw three Shadows come up for sale in NSW over the 12 months to Jan 2015, all asking $3k plus. All very average, not shopped, no mods, no leds, nothing. One was stored under a patio literally touching a bbq & was sporting a nice coat of dust - even it was gone at full price within hours (none were a case of the seller just asking for a price & the machine not selling).
Not mentioning names an AP member recently had what IMO was a very avg looking one on ebay for $3.45k (or thereabouts) - even it sold (outside of ebay I assume - but likely around $3k or more).
What I've seen is that prices differ MASSIVELY between states & also vary over time by title. Unlike Sterns they really aren't making more & after looking for a Shadow (& taking close interest in several other titles) for a year it's a sure thing that Qld is the cheapest market by miles - expected as many things are cheaper there (including labour) - but I'd love to hear if you can find a decent Shadow now for $1600 (& I'll definitely take it thank you very much). Melbourne is also a markedly "cheaper" market than Sydney & Canberra (& also has a much greater volume of machines coming up for sale).
Cowcorner, are you still loving your Shadow?
