Good deal for a fantastic loco. Worth every penny.
That was my first take as well, and I almost sent the seller an email indicating I'd be interested if "toyspecialist" didn't want it. Then I got to thinking, "Do I spend $550 on a yard switcher? Or spend a few bucks less and order a new ES44AC?" 
This is where Lionel's pricing collisions can be frustrating... and we just never know where the dust is gonna settle. Up until this year $550 for a brand new, unopened VL Genset would have been considered a worthwhile deal. But now with the newest ES44's pushing into that territory, I'm not so sure. Yes, I know the Genset is VL, and all that... and some will say I'm comparing apples and oranges. But it is what it is. So for me, in this case the ES44 won out in my mind -- just one of them though... MAYBE. I still don't like the fact that street prices went from $399 to $525-ish in a few months. 
So I haven't picked up the phone to pre-order one. 
At least not yet. 
And I certainly won't be ordering FIVE of them. Lionel already lost that business for sure.
David
I'm not sure I follow your logic. I'd take the VL Genset over a standard issue ES44AC all day long. With their prices being so close now, it makes that decision even easier. Where I might have once settled for the ES44 in part because of the price difference, now I'd rather just spend the few extra dollars to get a much nicer engine (even though the logo is backwards).
