I bought my first pair of 1200's back in 1999 for $800. Saved up like a mf'er and bought 'em one at a time-one black one that needed a new tone arm and a silver one with the pitch lock button and a Rane TTM mixer. Them joints got stolen the following year, so I worked two jobs and bought an all new pair of 1210's for about $900. My first pair, I bought from a local dj store that is now closed and GC, my second pair I bought online with an Ecler HAK320 mixer.
Ended up selling one of my decks for $300 to put on some books for school back in 2007. I worked as a dj for roughly 5 years, and it was a rough 5 years. My single deck is in the basement of my house unused and with a thick layer of mold and dust. In fact, the stylus tip looks like a furball. I would've put that thing on eBay seeing as the value has risen now that Technics no longer manufactures them anymore, BUT, who the hell is using turntables these days as a working dj? Maybe I should, I could get $1K for it easy if some one is interested (I doubt it, but hey, couldn't hurt to try, right?)