I'm just going to say it.
This mining thing has absolutely, 100%, unequivocally ruined my Christmas and holidays and I'm pissed about it. You have a point about performance equaling the price point now but I will never ever never fucking ever pay over MSRP. Even if it means going green.
That is all.
I understand where you are coming from, but lets face it, even those paying more than MSRP are more than likely going to break even after a month or two of mining. There is definitely incentive. Even if you bought a 290/290x over retail, gamed with it and mined in the off hours, you will most likely have the card paid off and turn a profit after 3-4 months.