I agree too with what your saying 100%. However, I truly give deep thought to, or perhaps, have a new respect for, someone who wants that 1 of ? Yugo convertible or that rustic looking warped wood faded non working radio for what ever reason, just because my own personal opinion on what I may think something is worth because I wouldn't give it, OR collect it for that matter, is truly irrelevant to what someone may pay, OR want to collect. When I go antiquing, often times Ill be looking at something, and the owner will come over and start a conversation on it, and by time I leave, I have learned and have a new respect for why its collectible to them and why they think its worth what their asking, not saying you don't run across the occasional nut jobs LMAO!! I'm sure there are people who think collecting "G body cars" is crazy and to them, they aren't worth crap. i'm happy there are so many people collecting so many different things, because if everyone wanted a G body car, we would no longer be able to find one under 50K lol, supply and demand ratio kicking in for sure. The world is a big pot of soup, and each one of us is an ingredient, life sure would taste like sh*t if we were all the same ingredient. 🙂or valuable. Every field that deals in "old stuff" has to contend with the folks that think just because they have something old and maybe rare that its suddenly worth a kajillion dollars. The antique radio field is rife with this. Yeah its old and rare simply because there aren't many left but I won't give you more than $20 for it because a) it doesn't work b) the wood is trash and c) its just not worth the $400 you're asking. Or its some crap late 60's/70's solid state console with an 8-track that nobody wants. I have a few of these in my shop I literally can't give away.
but
Really nice old sets that actually are worth something cut up and the guts thrown away to make some shitty "shabby chic" faux-weathered wine rack or aquarium or whatever. Just like "well, that's gone forever, thanks, jerk!" Same with legit low number rare cars that ARE desirable. Once its cut up and the parts tossed in the bin, its gone forever. "More than the sum of its parts" etc.
The Yugo is kind of an interesting case. They were garbage from the start, they basically all fell apart or dissolved in rust. The survivors are "rare" but since they're still considered garbage with no aesthetic or functional value, and no aftermarket to speak of (I'm just guessing on that) literally nobody wants them except for a very few weird enthusiasts. rare =/= desirable =/= valuable