I paid like $600 for mine back in 2005-6
Ah the good ol' days.
Paid $250 for my Neo25 with a 4 slot and 11 games.
Found a Street Fighter II in a zback for free on craigslist (oh it doesnt work - reset the breaker. boom)
Paid $150 for a Tekken Tag in a dynamo at an auction
Bought a Samducksa Crowin Case with Alien Vs Predator CPS2 for $450
Found a Megalo 410 for $150 and it came with Battle Circuit CPS2 and KOF2003 PCB.
$80 for a working Killer Instinct PCB.
$40 (SHIPPED!) for a Primal Rage PCB.
Gone are the days of old, sadly.