Only way its a waste is if the bike spends its time in your garage and not riding the dirt. Based on buying a deore equipped hardtail around the same time I'd say you got a good price, not amazing but not bad. Most dual suspension deore equipped bikes in 2017 were going for about the same MSRP so compared to that price its a bargain, compared to the average 1k price point bike on the floor today its going to be as good or better; a recent search of Trek's models at this price left me disappointed. But ultimately, what makes any bike a waste is the lack of use. When working in a shop I always liked to see the bikes that were thrashed from regular use knowing their looks and wear were well earned over the easy to fix wall hanger that was brought in every 5 years in the thought this would be the year the owner might finally get around to using it.