bpjack wrote on May 23^rd, 2021 at 11:52pm:


Well that's good to see since that .219 Ackley Imp. High Wall I bought yesterday has the same scope on it too!

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it's an ebay  I have sen things sell on there for lots of $$$  then someone put the same item  up and no bids. 1 time I go to an action a there are 4 burking belt sanders I get the frist one for 50$  I am the only biber so I think good I will get one or more of the next 3 they went for more than you could have bought new . ken

Some idiot has a 6x Unertl small game scope starting at $700 with a buy-it now of $925.  Probably a moron.  Oh wait, that is my listing

Jack

I agree John. I have one 25x and 3 20x and prefer the 20s. The 25 is on my BSA MKII and is used mostly at 100 yds. 
There is a 30x on eBay listed at $2800!
I have purchased a few Lymans on eBay including the 25x but have never paid over $525 for one. 
Jack

If one reads the post, it SOLD for $1685. The" soon we'll all be gone is a given, I hope your wrong about the later. One has to remember, that with the computer age, the buying numbers have increased exponentially. In the case of scopes, they are not allowed to be sold outside the US. But I can assure you that the numbers of potential buyers here are much larger than at your local gun show. I have never looked at the tools I use in my shooting as investments. I have enjoyed a lifetime of their use, and when I'm gone, my son can sell them for half what I bought them for and come out ahead, as he will have nothing invested. Their cost was absorbed over a lifetime of enjoyment.

I'm ready to do my bit for the cause of returning target scope prices to sane levels. I stand ready to purchase any 20x Unertls for $200 apiece. Somebody's gotta take the first step, may as well be me!

I for one have a hard time reconciling EBay’s numbers as a trend or legitimate benchmark of current market values. Just way too much behind closed doors and/or verifiable to hang your hat and wallet on.  However Scopes like the Lyman STS’s, Unertl’s etc. we’re never inexpensive, ever, and never super abundant.  They were always specialized optics for the most discerning target/varmint shooters and never manufactured in quantities to satisfy the general shooting public. 

So your looking at scopes that are proven performers with as good repeatability as can be found anywhere. They are simple but very robust so therefore not difficult to service, bump or repair as many internally adjusted scopes. They lack the best lens coatings but with Unertl,  anyway, used the finest Schott glass and house grinders. I believe Lyman used the same or similar and of course the German scopes too. Low light lens coating technology is really not as critical to benchrest shooters as hunters but another argument. 

So these low production highly accurate repeatable target,sniper,varmint scopes are able to remain perfectly usable to this day, serviceable and still expensive. It’s a niche market so nobody is going to come in a push them out. Of course you will always see a few new makers pop up and perhaps exceed but the adds will always point out that their scopes are as good as a Lyman or a Unertl. I’m afraid these scopes will continue to climb in value as long as people want performance and the big long slender ‘ cool factor ‘ . Yep aesthetics is something that drives prices and is impossible to quantify.