Actually, you could probably get just about what you bought it for, believe me. Maybe more. Those little EX 250's sell like hot cakes, and dealers will run out by the end of the year (see: law of supply/demand). Don't sell yourself short when you turn it over to a new owner, futureduc. The Ninja 250 has an amazing retention of value. Look at the 650cc Hawk GT Honda. People are selling those for more than they retailed for new and have been for years. Are they crooks? The rant below isn't directed at you, futureduc, but maybe there are some principles here that will help you get closer to your dream bike, like they did for me, and I hope they do for you as well.
As far as the 998R guy, he can ask what he wants. I don't have to like it but I'm not going to be offended by it. I SHOW I DON'T LIKE IT BY NOT BUYING IT AT THAT PRICE AND AM FREE TO DO SO, not by bitching about it on the 'net and hurting his chances of making a buck. You know if I just won a substantial amount in the lottery, I would think that $24K is a pittance for such a bad ass bike, and I think that $9k of profit is pretty shrewd on the sellers part. Do folks have such a lack of understanding of a free market like we live in? Is capitalism really so hated by folks that simultaneously revel in all it has to offer?
You know that whole thread makes it seem like he "ripped off" the guy he bought that bike from for $15K by asking $24K for it months down the road, and that it can't be worth that much ever. Please.
That guy sold it to him for as much as he needed to give up the keys at the time, and if he sold it for under market value it is his fault. PERIOD. Nobody held a gun to his head. I'm tired of this prevailing attitude lately that someone who makes a profit is a criminal. People constantly engage in transactions for products and services for what they feel they are worth to each party, the valuation of which is set by each at the conclusion of the transaction, without coercion by anyone but market forces and FREE WILL.
So all foul language and name calling aside, the end result of that thread is that the seller cannot now easily sell his bike out in the open in that marketplace, without the buyer artificially feeling like he is overpaying and the seller unfairly looking like a crook, BECAUSE A THIRD PARTY DIDN'T LIKE IT. There may have been several people who thought that bike is worth his asking price. Is this where we live now?
RANT!