Some people buy things because their beauty pleases them and some buy things to signal to others how much wealth they have. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with either. Have you ever bought something that was nicer and more expensive than it needed to be to serve its function?
Utilitarian ideology aside, that rock isn't worth 190k, or 80k or even 1k. It's not that pretty. I'd have a hard time parting with $50 unless I thought I could sell it to someone else tomorrow for more - and there lies the rub. The argument goes that the market sets the value, but this is not a case of that. If one foolish person miscalculates and overpays for an item, the market value for that item doesn't recalibrate to what they paid. There's no market for the item at the new price but that's how these sellers paint it. They pull value from thin air not from scarcity or precision skill but simply by conning the naive. It's a scam plain and simple, wrapped up in superfluous details to sow confusion
