Classic cars and celebrity memorabilia not withstanding, consumers expect that when they buy a used product it will come at a discount compared to if it were purchased new. But, as the Wall Street Journal reported today, in the world of private jets a “me-first” mentality is making used jets actually costlier than new ones. Used models of the most popular planes, like a Gulfstream G550 or a Bombardier Global Express XRS are worth sometimes 10% more than their purchase price. The reason? To buy one new you’ll have to take your place at the end of a list of bookings which extends all the way into the middle of the next decade. In addition to buying used planes, many eager potential owners have turned to paying their way up the waiting list, creating a business in jet speculation.

The incredible demand for business jets is being driven up by buyers from the Middle East, Russia, and the Far East, flush with new wealth and unwilling to wait their turn for a jet. The Wall Street Journal points out that the market is being driven less by the performance of Fortune 500 corporations these days, than by individual billionaires whose numbers have increased in recent years even as the general economy has flagged.