A different object but the same concept.
My father owned a music store from the 50's to the 80's. One of the main sources of income was renting band instruments to students. These insruments were used and often not shiny but were of high quality and great sound. It was a functioning business model until Chinese made band instruments started coming in. These Chinese instruments were cheaply made and sounded like crap! But... they were shiny and cheap. Someone could buy one for the same as 3 months rent for a high quality insrument from my father, and it came with a case! No kid wanted to play in band after that with anything but a shiny new trumpet or whatever. Needless to say it put my father's store out of business in less than a year.
Moral of the story is most people want shiny and new, not old and great quality. certainly not old and rusty with paint faded and worn off (patina). We collectors of history are in the minority if you really want to do the numbers. But that can be a good thing as there is less competition to attain the great old stuff. Always look for the good in the bad.
