Wendy and The Irony of It All

Funny how I said in my last post that I've never spent more than $50 including shipping on any single Precious Places set and then a couple of days later this set is posted on eBay for $49.99 plus shipping:

Photo courtesy of eBay seller kcaparso22

It is the ultra-rare Wendy with Aqua colored wheels ice cream cart, a set that I've never seen on eBay before.  Not only that but it is new in the package, never been played with!  

But the excitement doesn't stop there, not only is it Wendy with Aqua Wheels, and new in the package ta boot, it comes with Amanda's personality card, which is just weird enough to make me want it even more!!!!

I feel that my principles are being sorely tried at the moments.  Part of me says, anything that you see on eBay will come up again another time at a better price and besides, when have you ever seen a single figure go for $50?!?  That's sort of insane for a figure set.  I mean, you can sometimes get a nice Mansion for less than that!

But the other part of me really just wants it no matter how much it is.

To bid or not to bid, that is the question....

Precious Places Pricing

I recently got this question from Sarah and I thought I'd make a post out of it so that everyone would be sure to contribute their opinions on the topic.  Here's her question:

So this is a little off topic but I was wondering what you and other users though would be fair prices for some of the more hard to come by sets or even just not as common ones. I always want to find a bargain and dont want to overpay even though I love these so much. Thanks!
-Sarah 

This is sort of a tough question because the prices on eBay seem to fluctuate quite a bit, but I personally have never spent more than $50 (including shipping) on any single set.  My new in box Pretty Penny Wishing Well was less than that, and my complete (though not new in box) Sunshine Country Picnic was only about $30.  The only way I'd spend more than $50 to get a set would be if I could get a new in the box Magic Key Mansion, the Dining Room furniture or any of the County Fair Sets. 

If you really want deals, check the PP listings on eBay every day and be very patient (I've been working on my collection for almost four years now).  If you do those two things, you CAN get sets for a good price. 

What does everyone else think?  How much would you pay for rare sets?  What was your best Precious Places deal?