Haven't bought for 5 years as not willing to pay the asking prices. Now will try a nib hoping can get some trouble free playing for the bux spent???

The emphasis being on ASKING prices, not necessarily actual selling prices.

A lot of private sellers are taking a leaf out of the ebay dealers books and simply using the platform as advertising with a high starting price, then letting buyers come to them privately with lower offers.

The listing gets pulled and everyone assumes it sold for (or close to) the listed asking price thereby creating a false new benchmark valuation.

No one who has been into pinball collecting for more than a few years would pay $4k for a standard faded cab Getaway or $5k for an unshopped CFTBL and then readily budget another $2500 plus on top of that for a partial restoration. That is strictly new buyer mentality territory based on Stern price rises.