Retro hardware is an absolute luxury item, it's basically free to emulate so I don't understand the heartburn some people have about hardware prices today. As an example, something like a Roland MT-32 cost $695 when it came out in 1987, which would be $1600+ in today's dollars accounting for inflation... I've seen numerous examples sell for less than $200 in the past year which seems like a relative bargain. Legalities aside, you can fully emulate the MT-32 / CM-32L via MUNT in software or even external modern hardware for almost free.
Also keep in mind, higher prices mean more of the items in question do end up available through the resale market, if they weren't worth anything their basic gold content/scrap value would outweigh the trouble of selling them and potentially dealing with the messiness of eBay, Craigslist, etc..
There ARE retro items that tend to go for an absolute premium, but they tend to be "best in class" or obscure / braggy vs functionally desirable. Unless you are actually going for bragging rights/status, retro hardware can be very affordable if you are willing to put in a little work to acquire it.