What's happened to the used high end market recently?? Sales are tough....:0(

I don't know. I lost my system in storage about 2009, or maybe 2010, and just recently got back into it. 

FIRST thing I noticed is that the used stuff I was used to back then was selling for either the same prices or more, sometimes MUCH more than they were. 

Other thing I noticed, was prices for "state of the art" were much, MUCH higher. 

Some of this I think is inflation...obviously, 4k in the 90's would be maybe 8k today. And the cost to build, say, a Mac MR78 tuner would be more than it was, so one would expect used prices to go up along with new prices. 

I don't consider 1/2 of retail or new "giving away"...1/2 of retail is normal for just about anything used (dealers and suppliers have to have profit, that's just how the world works). 

From what I see, HEA is as healthy as I've ever seen it.

The other thing, maybe a different subject, is mainstream music seems to be streamed. The general public is FAST moving in this direction, and so, to a point, stereo systems are becoming out of date to most homes. 

This reminds me a LOT of the CD revolution, which was a real boost to HEA, really saved it in a way. Folks traded in their record players for CD's, HEA companies put lots of effort into making better CD players, even to compete with the quality of record players. Many while "upgrading" rediscovered record players...the whole thing got a boost, and EVERYTHING got better. 

Now I see products making efforts to compete streaming "up to" the quality of the lowly CD. Who all here has streaming that sounds as good as your CD player? Better? How much did it cost? 

My visits "back" to the stereo shops, systems are for more expensive, lots of streaming components for sale, some very expensive, and the sound coming from the streamers at a lower level of quality. 

Deja Vu! last time it was like this, the HEA revolution was just about to start up (again).

There is a problem with HEA.  That is summarized in today's article from Enjoy the Music:  Come Admire My Hi-Fi Jewelry Roger Skoff writes about what things cost, and why.   This essay delivers an important message about many HEA manufacturers (and their clients).  The equipment must appeal to the eye/visually or else it won't sell, regardless of audio quality according to many HEA manufacturers.   
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0618/HiFi_Jewelry.htm  This is probably why there were so many new (and differently conceived) turntables at the recent Munich audio show.  Just check out Michael Fremer's AnalogPlanet.com site for several hours of exploration of the new LP spinners.  For some, looks mean almost nothing.  For others (and generally very expensive) the visuals are striking.