Like a lot of other hobbies, once you start really getting in to it you usually seek out what's hard to get. The reef guys crack me up spending thousands on just coral, so it's all relative.
How about xingu's when they first arrived?
I paid a little more than that price first mentioned for a solo 1.5" bass.
And that bass is one of my favorites.
Try lookn at your yearly feeding bill once they get big.