A link from a directory (as long as it is not a mirror of another site) is rated the same as a link from any other site. They have never been rated higher than other links.

Is it worth $69. I don't know.
How many new visitors will you get (either directly or indirectly). How many of these new visitors will buy someting on your site. Is the income from these new visitors higher than $69. Only you can answer these questions as only you know how your site is behaving [wich percentage of your visitors do by something and howmuch do they spend]. If you don't know the answers to these questions even spending $1 is to much.

I doubt it.

The only directory that falls over #250 in referrals is the Yahoo one, and it is at around #120.

DMOZ does not even show up in the stats, so it is probably around #350 - which puts it around the same rank as killercrocseatingmarshmallows.com

If it is a one time fee for the listing, I would think it to be worth it whether SEs appreciate the link or not. For myself, just or two referrals from the site that turn into customers more than make up for the cost of the listing. You'll have to weigh the benefits against the expense.

how about 25 links from 25 different killercrocseatingmarshmallows.com site for 99.95?

That might be a good place to promote my marshmallow eating alligators site, eh?

I have found they can be worth it for the inital links as a way for the SEs to find your site. I have listed a site in the top 5 directories before and had my site show up on the first page for mildly contested keywords before.

I think they're a pretty good place to start. But if you already have tons of links to your site, then there probably is very little if any value to paying for a directory link.

I guess it could be of some value. Maybe your particular niche has something to do with it.

In my field, I've never come across one that was credible or very useful.

To me, paid-inclusion "directories" represent nothing more than lists of people who paid to be there.

"To me, paid-inclusion "directories" represent nothing more than lists of people who paid to be there."

Completely agree with you, but paying to be on a page that the SEs consider prominent can definitely have some value. Text link ads and #*$! exist because of the value that paying for links can have.

Again though, you should try to keep the big picture in sight. Paying for links should be considered as part of an overall traffic growth plan. Paying $10-$100/mo. for a link on a decent rank page on a directory/site can be of value to jump-starting your site or getting the edge over the competition. But it's definitely not of value for everyone or every situation.

From the Google Webmaster Guidelines [google.com]

Submit your site to relevant directories such as the Open Directory Project and Yahoo!, as well as to other industry-specific expert sites.

Imo, a directory is only as good as it's editorial policy..