My main football lens, the 300 f2.8m had been acting up lately, cutting out AF function at random times. I sent it to Nikon but they said they have no parts to repair it since it is a "retired" lens. I had been thinking about getting a zoom version but options were too expensive. So I started shopping around.
MPB.com has the best prices and the most transparency, where you can look at photos of the actual items, and they include details about condition when needed. The newer version is the VR2, exact same lens but with improve VR and a newer lens coating. I never use VR for football anyway, so it wasn't a bit deal. The VR2 version is much higher priced, so I looked at the earlier version, but since it is almost identical Nikon should have parts for repair for a long time.
Out of the 8 lenses the had listed I had my eye on about three of them, the most expensive one and the cheapest one, and another one in between, ranging from 1119 to 1669. I studied these all carefully for a couple of weeks and finally decided I need to buy one of them, just had to decide which one I would invest in. The cheapest one looked really nice, but the notes said it made a squeaking sound when focusing. I researched the squeak issue and it was very common, many users saying theirs had always had that squeak, it usually gets quieter with use and never and an issue with operation. My first instinct was to go with the cheap one, but I had a focus issue before with a 300/f4 that died twice, once before and once after Nikon claimed to have replaced the motor. It's dead, Jim. So I went through a lot of anxiety trying to settle on the cheap option, but still in the back of my mind thinking I should get one of the other ones.
Late Sunday night I decided I need to make a call and go with it. I went back on last time after midnight, and low and behold, the prices on all of them had dropped $100 since a couple or house before the last time I had checked on them. The most expensive one had dropped $150, from 1669 to 1519. I saw that as a sign and pulled the trigger. It was like a $7000 lens in 2010.