Daniel,
Some people who were just getting into photography in the seventies and used Nikons were infected by the F2 cameras in all their various variants and cannot be cured so they just have to use an F2 when shooting 35mm film and really cannot shoot 35 format without one.
In the rare instance that one of these people looses a camera (usually misplaced due to mental incapacity) or worse has a camera malfunction they are forced to look for a replacement! And since the cameras are no longer made and quite old well the whole supply and demand thing happens and the prices go way up.
If you too are one of the infected people well then you have my simpathy!
PS, Let me know if you ever need batteries for F2 motor drive?
Well, I'm infected, I guess, but I sure don't want the cure.
I've got 4 of these, all regularly CLA'd, all with motor drives (Got batteries, thanks), DP3 finders that all work, and an arsenal of Nikkor lenses for them. It's one of the most reliable cameras ever made, IMHO. It's built like a hockey puck and you can use it to pound fence posts with, or so I'm told. Yes, I was just starting out in 1968 actually, and used a Nikon F to cover the Democratic convention riots in Chicago (until I got my hands on an F2As. We both survived.
I still shoot with these things all the time, like a couple of times a week for assignments.