Actually, my cell phone bill is $35/month and I have a hard time justifying that cost. I know a lot of people who treat $1,500 like peanuts. Most of them are absolute fools. Those that aren't fools could easily afford go buy a new corvette off the lot at lunch today on a whim. As a business expense, a $1,500 tool isn't that big of a deal because the asset gets depreciated, and the business (should) budget for replacing the tool at a fixed interval. For a private individual, especially one who only uses a tool like that less than 40 hrs per year, $1,500 is a waste of money. The only reason to spend it is for the bragging rights of owning the orange and white tool. To me, that makes as much sense as buying a brand new truck to drive 40 miles each way back and forth to work.
Buying a used saw makes a lot more sense, but my experience has been that the used saws are also going to need some wrenching, and are more prone to need seals and other rubber parts replaced within a few years of buying the saw. For me, that's the biggest advantage of the clones. They have all new rubber, I can do all the wrenching up front in way less than an hour; after which they will run trouble free for a lot longer than one of my used saws will.