I kick myself thinking about all the Marlin Camp Carbines I walked past for CHEAP money back in the day and then see what they bring now when found for sale. I'm on the prowl for one in 45acp that I don't have to spend a week's wages to bring home.
I hadn't priced one in a decade. I'm afraid to look... The internet has ruined gun prices, LOL.
I walked into my local store a few years back and scored an old AR Sales Co M1A for $700 because it had no magazine. It's all GI M14 parts on a high quality receiver that was one of the first semi-auto versions made. They only did a few hundred, and now they're collectors items apparently. Better than the reproduction or chinese M14 parts in most M1A's available today, so there's no way I'm letting it go!