There are a number of factors that govern resale ... how fast you want to move something, what you paid originally or via an upgrade, how much you earned with it, and how much was written off.I am pretty sure Marc sold his H4D-40 for $11,600 USD.
Trust me, I didn't lose much on my H4D/40 if anything at all ... but, (big BUT), my original buying price, plus professional earnings including line-item client daily rental charges for MFD digital capture, and annual write offs made that possible. These mitigating factors are less available to advanced enthusiasts.
In general, these MFD systems do not hold re-sale value for a number of reasons ... those that can afford them in the first place can usually afford to continue trading/upgrading to keep current ... so they are not the ones buying the used stuff. This leaves selling outright to those that can't go new for financial reasons, or simply refuse to pay for new gear like the early adopters and confirmed gear sluts will ... therefore, they expect a relative bargain or they just won't buy at all. This is a generalization and there are exceptions, but not many.
So, I agree ... selecting based strictly on resale value is not always the best approach. Choose wisely going in, and think long term with the objective of living with it to make images.
-Marc