Precisely. This post isnt answering the rhetorical question, but using it as an example.....
I spent god knows how much on my old civic vti, it went faster than it did when i first bought it, but for all the money I spent I could well have bought a quicker car in the first place. It was a hobby, something I enjoyed.
With modding, I see it as something I employ in everything I do in life. You start with something, a possession, or an activity and make it better and more effective. Its fuilfilling when you look back at how object x or activity x used to be, and how it has progressed to where it is today.
So back to the original post, people spend so much money on mods as it allows us improve the watch and see it progress from being accurate, to very accurate, and sometimes indistinguishable from the gen, for a fraction of the price. Each person may have a different motive to do such a thing, but ultimately, the same motivation in the sense of enjoyment and achivement.
In 'getting' alot of money for mods, I don't think this is the case. The amount of work and precision that goes into various mods, I think it is a very reasonable price for a great service!