I have to agree with you. If I didn't already own one, I would be happy to pay this price. I paid 2130$ for mine June '11. BTW, if anyone is listening, you couple this baby to a TC20E-III and you get 400mm in full frame and 600mm in DX on the long end. The bokeh is superb. Hang in there, it's a question of patience. Here's an example:
http://christianfritschi.com/index.php/the-red-eye-bug/
Christian,
www.ChristianFritschi.com
https://images.nikonians.org/galleries/useralbums.php?nik_lng=en