Here I go, shooting myself in the foot

Whether new issue or "new old stock" (NOS), one can spend a great deal of money on tubes. In the case of NOSs, some of us might recall, as wee little shavers, the TV repair man coming over to fix the family TV and charging a couple of bucks for the same tube that's now being sold for hundreds. In the beginning of my tube life, I considered NOS tubes to be trinkets for the big money audio elite. Now, upgrading to the best tubes available, while trying to minimize paying a rarity premium, is standard procedure for me. They have proved to be among the very best bang-for-the-buck improvements that I have come across in audio.
BTW, I figure I'm shooting myself in the foot if I persuade someone to plunge into the NOS market and drive up prices.