To me, it doesn't make sense to spend over a $1000 for a rep. While I can understand the fun in modding something (and spending thousands to tinker and have fun with watchmaking), spending 1k to over 3k for a modded watch for the sake of having something as close to gen seems like madness to me -- or just an unhealthy obsession.
My first watch when I was 15 was a gen Longines as a gift; 15 years later, I purchased a gen. Rolex, being financially secure. Now, a couple of years later, I decided to get a few reps -- for the fun of having something that I probably would have never considered in gen. I'm at that stage of life where I do want some fun, but 15-30k for a gen watch is money I can (re)invest into business and perhaps get a 100% return within a year. No watch, gen or otherwise, can double their value in a year like that.
From an economic point of view $500 is very little. You can spend $500 for a good meal in a high-end restaurant (for 2 or more) or you can get a rep watch for that price -- in both case, you'd have had a few hours of fun (wearing your rep or eating) but that's it.
Which brings me to my view on reps, and my point: for some people, getting a rep would be a way to trick people into assuming they have bought a gen watch; maybe it can make the difference into getting a job position they wouldn't otherwise get, or having a romantic date with someone, etc. It's understandable and nothing bad and I totally agree.
But spending over a $1000 for a single rep, trying to be as gen-like as possible, goes beyond tricking others or having fun, it's starting to turn into an unhealthy obsession. This is the price a real watch-lover can get a very good genuine watch, with artistic, mechanical and/or historical value. $1000 is also the price a person can get a gen watch that can be a decent enough status symbol to allow for a successful job interview or date, without tricking others or yourself.
Since discovering the rep world a few months ago, I did learn a lot about watchmaking and watches in general and made me appreciate the gen I have, but also allowed me to experiment with something new, so I'm very thankful to RWI for the wealth of information here. I've received my first rep, a Patek 5711 and it made me realise that I really don't like it.
I'm not the kind of person who's going to an AD just to try without purchasing, dream or do window shopping, it's a pointless waste of time I choose to spend on other things, so reps allow me in a way to try new things, and get a better idea of what I like and what I would buy in the future. Since getting a rep Patek, I realised my goal for a Patek watch: Perpetual Calendar (Chronograph) but that's going to be quite a few years in the future! There's a long way to go before I would put that much of my money into a watch. As for reps, there's a JLC MUT and an AP RO on the way and I'm eager to try them out -- maybe I'll like then after wearing them for a day or two, maybe I'll hate them; maybe I'll get a gen JLC or not, we'll see.