Back to the statue itself, do people think this might go the route of barad-dur and be available for less than retail on ebay from retailers? I think I picked up the BD for 499 before it sold out from someone moving old stock.
It may, but then you got to off set that in loss of Weta Dollars, possible higher postage costs (depending on where those left over stock happens to be), and if you are unlucky and get one that is broken, then unless your quick, you may not get a replacement.
I'd say one thing you could do is wait for a Weta discount card or the like for 10% off that someone picked up at a con and isn't using. Between that and 15% Weta dollars back on what you do spend, your just about getting old stock ebay price direct from Weta.