Sometimes it's a question of convenience as well. For example, when I got my red knee, she was healthy and readily available for me to bring home. If I went another way, I would have had to spend a couple of hours at least looking up where to get the best price, spend time emailing back and forth. Wait for my payment to arrive and then wait for the tarantula to be shipped.
In my personal experience, sometimes my time is worth much more that wasting hours and days for something I can get for a few bucks more right now, hassle free.
We all have our way of dealing with things and it doesn't mean because some will pay more that they are throwing their money away, they might just feel that it's fair for the price to save the hassle of ordering from somewhere out of town.
In any case, even had I paid 300$ for my red knee, I still would be just as happy with her. She is perfect in every way and so pretty
If you factor in the life expectancy of this species for a female, I think it's well worth it.
When I bought my Charlotte I calculated that if she lived 25 years, I would have her with me until I was 51 or so, if she makes it to 30 even more!!!
I think it was a very good buy, but that is of course my opinion
Pixie