Ha... I bid on the first set. I took it pretty high, but decided it simply wasn't worth spending the money right now. I'll just invest that $80 (factoring in shipping) into something else I come across. You know, like investing it into that perfect, unissued M80/03 Iraqi helmet for $15 from a local antique store the other day... Having said that, that's certainly an awesome jacket, so I'm not belittling anyone's high bid in any way!
Besides, I think the DCU market is a bit over-inflated for some things... Nice Vietnam era jackets, after surviving over 40 years of neglect and being thrown away, don't sell for too much more than a comparatively nice DCU set. This is all relative, of course, considering the Vietnam items have had nearly 50 years of value appreciation, whereas DCUs from OEF/OIF are at most about 10 years old, still found in surplus stores, garage sales, and thrift shops, but are still fetching 25-50% of what a "comparable" Vietnam jungle jacket sells for. It just seems like there is no gestation period for OIF/OEF items, which kind of makes the market a bit questionable (opens things up for forgery, puts into question what fair market prices actually are, etc.). Many collectors are pro-actively trying to learn from the lessons of prior collecting genres, attempting to snatch up "rare" items and paying through the nose for them since they'll be "difficult to locate" in the future. Now remember, I sell DCUs from time to time (in fact, I've sold several jackets to forum members)... so you know I'm giving an honest opinion if I'm willing to criticize a market I have a vested interest in!
Just an interesting tidbit... the jacket that sold for $68 was actually listed very poorly initially. However, it seems some other "collector" gave the seller an inside scoop and told them to re-list the auction in a different category and with a different title. If that person is here on this forum, please don't do this in the future. If you feel the seller made a mistake, bid on the item, win it yourself, and sell it for a profit. Otherwise, you are very possibly "cutting the throats" of other forum members who invest the time to find these poorly listed auctions.
Now, don't hate on me for making that statement! I'm also a seller of antiques/collectibles (in fact, it's currently my sole source of income!). When I list something poorly and don't make what I should on an item, that is my responsibility for not researching the item properly. If sellers don't take the time to find out what they have, I'm sure not going to take the time to inform them. However, if someone comes up to me and says "what do I have?", I'm more than happy to educate them. However, if it's just sitting on their table at a flea market for 10% of the market value, I'm gonna snatch that item up and net me some profit. There's no excuse for not knowing what most things are worth with the internet all around us.