The one you saw on Ebay go for $2899 was listed as a new one (at least "new" in Ebay terms, as the seller wasn't a Ric dealer) with a '08 SN. From what I can see, Ric has apparently tweaked their AFG and FG finishes a bit, as the finish on that guitar appears considerably different than the one on yours and mine (as I mentioned above, also an '06 SN). Some will like the newer finish better, though (with my acknowledged bias
The other consideration is that *I think* even the last 1996s coming out of Ric today (if they're still coming) are filling out the last remaining orders from '06 when they were announced (somewhere around $2300-$2400 IIRC). The two Ric dealers I've done business with are/were still selling the guitars based on the '06 order price. Can't say that's true for everyone, but that's the story with the two guys I deal with. At least one of those guys was still taking deposits up to about 6 mos ago for 1996s he had on order that hadn't found an interested buyer yet.
As I said, I offer the above in the spirit of just swapping opinions on a very nice instrument by Ric. Yours looks to be a fine example, so good luck with the sale, and welcome to RRF.
Cheers,
Bill

