I purchased a Moonlander 2 second hand on offerup 5 months ago for $20. Go to ebay and now they are selling in auctions for Hundreds of Dollars! Mining coins to HODL without KYC is exactly why I got into this hobby!
I noticed that a couple of weeks ago, when I just happened to be idly browsing eBay--and I do remember when Moonlanders and other USB miners were very cheap. I'm not sure why prices have spiked; the only reason I can think of for that is that people are collecting them. I suppose there's a chance that people are doing what OP is doing (lottery mining), but I think it's kind of silly to buy so many of these stick miners that it drives the whole market for them up. Maybe the buyers of them don't realize how little bitcoin can be earned using them? That's the whole reason why there were so many on the second hand market in the first place--they're obsolete.
Yeah sometimes buying/selling used ASICS is a better way to earn money than cryptos themselves lol
Like selling shovels and wheelbarrows during the gold rush of 1848-49, it's true. But buying an ASIC at least gives you the chance to mine something substantial, whereas with USB miners you'll never make your money back unless you do happen to hit the jackpot and mine a block.