Malcolm,
Your point is well taken, and hopefully you are not referring to me. If you are, I don't believe I was trying to be cool, as clearly I already am.
People can buy anything they want, to include router planes that don't even work properly when sold new. It's your money, you can spend it as you like. I was merely trying to inquire as to why someone would buy something new costing 4X what an older model would cost. Having been in the tool making world for a while, it is surprising to me. My take aways are:
There is a perception that newer is better
Very minor tweaks to a tried and proven design are considered desirable
Some people only want to buy new tools
Some people do not care to tune old tools
Some people really like Veritas stuff, regardless of how much it costs.
Happy planing, old or new!