I think by the time they finally came into stock we had cleared out all of the suckers as the U.S would say. IE, any one who wanted one had it. At whatever price they had paid.
Things are totally different now. Covid made it all worse. For ages I did not buy anything from any of my hobbies because it was all crazy prices. Like bike parts as an example. The upside is that many who started an expensive collection of bike parts during Covid are now selling up. Meaning I am paying less than I ever have.