Not sure about elsewhere, but in Europe, up until a year ago, the F430 Scuderia was almost impossible to find on eBay. And when found, prices were over €200 in some cases. Then around July last year they started popping one after another, and not many people were going for them.
That's how and why I finally scored one in blue. And I also got a F355 in yellow, a little while after. I'm now only waiting for the F12 to drop in price, still too many people out there living in dream world and pricing them too high.
We all know that HWE models in general have aged/are aging pretty badly, most had paint rash and loose bits from factory and some were just Foundation models with added mesh and PE bits.
With so many other options for diecast collecting out there, both new and seasoned collectors alike are shifting their focus to other diecast makers, and car brands other than Ferrari. So all those once expensive and sought after HWE (F430 Scud, F40, F355, 458 Speciale, 288 GTO, etc.) are now becoming more obsolete and forgotten every month that passes. Also because, as I suspect, many of them are quite literally "turning to dust", reaching a point where the deterioration is such that they just cannot be sold as a model, only as parts.
Many people collecting HWE are getting fed up dealing with the ageing issues, so it's only a matter of time before all those models hit the market at very low prices. It's already happening. Of course there are always the dreamers asking BBR prices for HWE, but when those once "rare and sought after" HWE models sell at auction, there isn't as much interest in them, really.
I, of course, still like the old HWE and to me they're nice models and I can live with the issues.
