True enough.
But if I was RED I'm not sure I'd ever get to the point where there wasn't a lead time of at least a month or so... not sure about that though. I need to think it through... but there's something to the idea of keeping a desired item slightly out of reach.
I think RED resale values will be 10%-20% off retail prices for a couple years. The $500 recertification fee will certainly come out of the sellers pocket. If RED really delivers a raw workflow native to many applications they'll really have something enticing.
A big camera devaluation would occur if RED upgrades the camera, leaves the price alone and charges owners $5k for the upgrade. If I was RED I'd raise the price of the camera at least as much as the upgrade to reflect the new technology in the camera. Additionally, once the workflow is nailed down and accepted the camera has more value. Right now it has risk, and that risk could be reflected in a lower, early adopter price. Everything is subject to change at RED. And it should be.
I think we could see a world of niche software rise up to support RED also.