I know where you're coming from, Laundrew. Like a famous author who's name escapes my memory said: 'Everyone knows the price of everything, yet few know the value of anything.' Can't remember the exact words, but that's pretty close.
Reminds me of a conversation I had among a few friends/acquaintances...
A guy who's a high ranking engineer for Otis elevators was talking about his new bachelor-esque pad. His work required him to stay a 4 hour flight away from his family Mon-Fri for a year, so they leased him a penthouse apartment and paid for him to fly home for the weekend every week.
So he went crazy with a TV, surround sound, computer stuff, etc for the apartment so he wasn't spending time out at the bar. Another guy at the conversation asked me about my stereo. They had blank stares when I mentioned the brands/models, as expected.
They guy who I just told you about's jaw dropped the furthest when I told them my Rega Apollo CD player cost $1k. "$1k for a CD player? I wouldn't even spend that much on a DVD player!" It was respectfully stated. My reply - "I wouldn't spend $1k on a DVD player either!" It must be said that the guy spent about $3k on a Bose system.
One of these days he'll come over to my place and see what he could have got for around the same price. Everyone knows the price of everything...