That is now accepted usage of 'Invested' but I strongly suspect it acquired that usage fairly recently and the usage was coined by advertisers and salesmen.
Feel free to cite a reference supporting your "strong suspicion". In any case, I initially objected/responded to the comment:
A pet-peeve of mine of people calling consumption for "investment" when it clearly isn't.
based on the
current accepted definitions of the word
investment. An
investment is not strictly limited to capital outlaid with the intent to profit
monetarily.
Then there is this defintion:
[countable] a thing that is worth buying because it will be useful or helpful e.g A microwave is a good investment.
Definition of investment noun in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com
Whilst a DAC could be regarded as investment in that sense of the word, in that it has a use, in
the context of the statement made that usage makes no sense:
''Still, in UK a used Dave's value, after say five years, still is in 60 percent of the new.
Not a bad investment.''
Since once sold it ceases to be defined as an investment re the 'Useful' definition of the word and since the loss would be approximately £4K on the £10K purchase price it does not conform to the other meaning of investment either:
The outlay of money usually for income or profit
If the poster's idea of "not a bad investment" (monetarily) is losing 40% of something's value over the course of five years, then I won't be listening to his advice on the stock market. The
only compensation for the almost certain loss in value of a durable consumer good is the utility/enjoyment it provides during the course of ownership. From that standpoint, a new DAVE is probably not a great investment as there are cheaper alternatives that provide the same or better utility (from a technical standpoint). OTOH,
if a given consumer has convinced himself (or had Rob Watts convince him) that DAVE is the best-sounding DAC available at or below its price point, then he may
feel that owning a DAVE for five years was an excellent investment (in his own happiness/quality of life). I will assume that "Not a bad investment" was intended to imply that many DACs wouldn't even be worth 60% of their original retail price after five years.
In any case,
I will continue to consider the money I've spent on home A/V equipment to be an
investment. If others disagree, that is their prerogative. Apologies for going somewhat OT.