Boy, that's a tough one. BTW, welcome to the forum. Just like any other item like this, it depends on how savvy the seller is. The prices on the entire Technics RS line has gone up a couple of hundred in the last year or so. A fair price would be around $700 I think. That's for a mint looking machine that is in perfect working order (as far as the seller knows that is). I would say that none of the 15xx or 1700 machines (or any other reel to reel for that matter)are going to be in perfect working order so figure on at least $200 for adjustments, cleaning and some worn or aged parts to be replaced. As you can see, you're in the $1k neighborhood. For a little more you could get a refurbished machine. Take my word for it, they're worth every penny. They sold new starting at $1500 in the late 70's till the mid 80's and were really a bargain then. I doubt if they made this machine today, it would cost under $5k. I think the new Otari's are over $5k but there are so many of them that finding a bargain is much easier. There was a glut of Technics on eBay that I kept an eye on a few months ago. I mean, there were over 30 sold in a little over a month! I copied the pictures and compared them every week (before the auctions ended) so I could warn the members here if any were fake ads but I never found a duplicate. It drove the prices down about $100-150 overall and they still seem a little lower than before. Be careful though, some of these machines look good in the pictures but are not as nice as they seem. Unless the ad says that it is refurbished, it will need work.