[leftside]

yes as a newbie to the tube world I find pricing somewhat frustrating since I see prices of tubes 10 times more than others simply because they are 50 yrs old etc...very tough to distinguish although pretty easy in the 300b world since there are so few top end contenders

Yep completely different worlds 300B vs 6SN7/6J5. I only have 2 pairs of 300B, but 50+ pairs of 6SN7 and 100+ pairs of 6J5.

eBay past sales give you some idea of prices, but even these can be all over the place.

 

[turbofeet]

I think the ebay sellers simply read forums like this and hike up the prices once someone is very impressed with a particular tube.

Once phrases like "holy grail", "bad boy" or "black beauty" are thrown around that's it - 1000% price increase.

We just have to start saying they're all rubbish and maybe the prices will come down.

You'd think no-one paying £1000 for a pair of tubes (always remaining on ebay) would be enough to discourage them but sadly not.

 

[triod750]

When they have a high asking price on something their other offers seem to be bargains to those without knowledge. At least this is what they hope for.