Does anyone know what the shipping charge is on a NIB stern? Is it cheaper than a typical NAVL purchase?

Many places include it in the price ... But arou d $250 to your door I think.More if you live in a more rural area.

So I guess it's cheaper than NAVL, which I've found to average around $400.00. Thanks.

More like 1000+

Yes it is. Shipping is usually approx $150 to California when shipped from Stern.

8995 gonna be the ceiling for MOPLE?

That's not a real price until someone pays it. Looks like the highest is $7995 so far.

The other factor to consider is how many people, especially perhaps Metallica fans or casual fans that found out about it through the Metallica website or PR .. who WOULD HAVE bought an LE, but it's out, so they went ahead and bought another unit. Those folks will probably never be in the market for an LE. I see the market for the LE building until it's release - then a hard crash as flippers start listing them. For now, most flippers are just going to remain in a holding pattern to watch the price .. It wouldn't surprise me to see the LE drop in price all the way back to close to the original purchase price, as flippers keep lowering their prices competing with themselves, with many not being able to support their initial investment once payment comes due - so they will start to panic and the price will plummit.

Having said that - the real "WHO KNOWS" is 3-6 months after release, and 1-2 years+ after release .. will people start snatching up the LE's for sale as the price is close to MSRP price right after they start shipping, or will a lot of folks already have their other edition pins and the market really won't be there. Those low prices could last for a very short period, or a very long period.

Only time will tell ... it's still certainly a gamble. Flippers may want to seriously consider selling within the next 1-3 weeks while there is guaranteed money to make. After that - it's going to be a bit of a roller coaster once they ship for a while - IMO.