That's just not true. In fact, I wouldn't agree with a single statement you just made. An Apogee mic is good but there's a reason he used a $3500 mic + $20,000 more in gear. For you to say that a $200 mic would have achieved the same results is just utter crap. If that was the case, no one would use a professional studio and, instead, would buy said $200 MiC and be done with it.

And wait - you think that his fans, the ones paying $0.99 for the song, are going to pay $40,000 for his gear? Sheesh - I have to believe that you're just talking to hear yourself talk at that point.

The resell value on mics is no different than anything else except in one regard: it's much, much harder to tell fakes in mics, and it's much harder to detect problems in mics than it is with other gear. With a guitar, it's easy - does it play well, stay in tune, feel good, and have no scratchy pots? Then it's good. With an amp, does it sound good? Is it loud? Any scratchy pots? When you tap the tubes, are any microphonic? But with a mic - it's much trickier. You pretty much have to send it to the manufacturer for them to tell you whether it is "right".

That being said, buying and selling used microphones is the way to go for most hobbyists. You can buy said Neumann U87 for $2500 used thus potentially saving $1000. As long as it doesn't need to be reconditioned, you've done well.