Some great points in the thread, and good advice. My point was that GE is $150 below the price of every other retired modular, and given the unique market and circumstances with the modulars (AFOL appeal, desire to own complete sets, etc.), that GE is well positioned for some nice escalation. I do think there's a bit of herd mentality around the modulars. FB and TH are seeing some amazing price escalation right now, and personally, I think GE is going to follow this sometime this year. If/when it does, $240 for a GE is going to look like a bargain. Heck, I wish I had punched the button on 3 more THs at $299 just 3 weeks ago. Had them in my Amazon cart, and bailed in favor of 2x Tumblers and 2x TBs (with the reasoning that "I'd rather pay MSRP than not..." Whoops.).
I do think the modulars are special in this way, and that any of them are going to see FB, TH, and yes, eventually GC type of escalation. It's inevitable with growing demand and supply frozen to stock already made. BTW, looking at # of eBay sales is a tricky art. Personally, I think Amazon is moving 10x to 100x the amount of stock as eBay. My evidence is anecdotal, though.
Wait a few years. A complete set of the modulars, especially if new in box, will be worth a literal fortune. I've already seen complete, sealed sets of all the modulars go for over $5000 (there was an eBay *auction* sale at $7k recently, though it included 3x of MS, so not quite apple-to-apple). Heck, *built* sets, with no boxes, are clearing $3500 now. My guess: in a few years, sets with mostly new kits (and perhaps the first 3 built, but with good boxes and instructions), will be $10k items.
There's nothing magic about paying MSRP (or below). Sure, that's a great deal if you can find it, but there's some favorable aspects to paying above MSRP (but not crazy-prices), too. For evidence, just look at TH pricing last month. Any of us would gladly pay $299 for TH today, and it was available at that price only weeks ago. Among the advantages of buying sets slightly above MSRP, you're buying sets that have gone "sold out" (and hopefully, soon to be "retired"). If some select sets are possibly headed to 3-5x above MSRP, paying 30-50% above MSRP when the market looks favorable isn't a huge risk. YMMV. Thanks again to all with the good thoughts here. I enjoy reading everyone's opinion.