Hope it works out for you Kona. Beautiful piece of craftsmanship by Gretsch in their partnership with Gladstone.
I was thinking more or less down the lines of Drummerjohn333, having been beaten a few times when I thought there would be nobody else willing to jump on my bid at the last moment.
Last time was a red onyx Rogers Citadel 20,12,14 (67-68 catalog kit) that went right up the ladder to just under $3k. I dropped out in the lower $2000 range, but had put that on it from the first moment. The winner seemed to have asked the question up front, "Is this a collectable drum set." (That made me wonder a bit??????).
Anyway, the seller was putting every remark on the site and confirmed that it was highly collectable, so about then I knew that someone was going to go until there was nobody else left in the field. Given that I had gotten the same exact kit in jet black for less than a third of that cost not long before, and got the jet black Dyna the next day for $1k, I figured any more $$ on the red onyx kit was pure insanity.
Interestingly, I had owned that same kit in the early 90's and had paid the outrageous figure of $800. I sold it for the same price a few months later when the pearl cracked on the bass drum. Some inflation is always expected on vintage items, but you are right on that idea that eBay has changed things dramatically for us.
