Diki,
What we pay is our own business. many of us have connections that allow for extra special deals. I pride myself on almost NEVER allowing depreciation on anything I buy. I always seem to sell b4 I loose. That's a personal skill I seem to have mastered. I know many others on the forum can buy at wholesale, or close to it.
I also keep good relationships with ALL my dealer frineds because I need service too, and I like to help the businessman out.

No one needs to disclose their buying trends to anyone, or justify why they upgrade more often than others. Let's just learn from each other, and give back when we can!

BTW - Russ, that was a VERY entertaing read!