Carbuncle.Snoochybooch said:
»I went 1/751, I know Nibu from carbuncle went 1k+ on gugs
In my case, the silver lining is that this was before fishing became very popular (pre-hakuryu), so I was able to get some great deals when buying in bulk. I think 15k each was the norm, 12k with the right sellers. Granted, the economy was very different back then, so that amount of money may still be equivalent to current prices when you consider inflation and whatnot.
When I was really strapped for cash, I began selling/trading any piece of equipment I had (if it was worth 100k+) to get more fish.
I once traded my Blau Dolch for 125 gugrusaurus, which I was originally regretting (it was worth 1.5 million at the time, but I struck a deal where no matter what # trade it was, if I got the shoot from one of those fish, the seller got to keep the dagger and the rest of his fish). I think that was one of the few times I came out REALLY ahead in the long run.
edit: I would even go so far as to say it may be to a buyer's advantage to take into account the seller's personal record, and how often they have seen others get the item. If they believe the item is going to drop sooner rather than later, striking one of these deals where you get the seller to take a bit of a gamble can definitely benefit you in the end. In my case, I didn't care if I traded that dagger and I got the saber shoot on the 5th turn-in, which would mean I'd "spent" 300k per fish; I just wanted to get that rod (my record was already abysmal at this time).