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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chosun Juan" data-source="post: 3328775" data-attributes="member: 92780">Yes  GG, and CG, very much so - this is what I was getting at when I said, "It seems to me that an enormous amount of resources are wasted in creating the broadly 3, but many and varied different levels of offerings - material, process, and duplicitous marketing grunt and copy. Wasted in the sense that with just two levels - alpha, and value, ...... vastly, vastly greater scale economies could be achieved thus bringing a substantial cost reduction for the two levels to around ~$1500, and ~$200-$400 (plenty of room to offer play in that value range), respectively. Of course that still leaves room for ~$100 and below entry level porros, and maybe even some 1/2 priced updated alpha type porros for the porrosaurs, and porromaniacs out there ........."Imagine that if instead of trying to (smoke and mirrors marketing style) differentiate the myriad different OEM supplied essentially the same bins, that,  --- all of that time, effort, and $$$ were instead collectively invested into improving the breed.  Lightweight, low cost, CFRP chassis (don't be frightened by the Carbon Fibre term in CFRP - there's a vast array of quality, performance, and cost points available, from el cheapo to cutting edge top shelf), and parleying the weight and cost savings into better glass, mechanical quality, armour, and production quality .......... a vastly better (for us) ROI, which would see 2nd level performance available at that $200-$400 value range  o<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" />The same step change could be seen at alpha levels, bringing the price down to a more reasonable circa $1500 --- at the moment, the development cost base is spread thinly over too many widely disparate and comparatively 'niche' models, in labour intensive production processes, to allow cost recovery without what must be in fact, very high existing profit margins.In the auto world, it was the Korean 'value' player Hyundai that really shook up and in many cases surpassed and sidelined the '2nd tier' Japanese and US behemoths, and forced the 'alpha' Teutonic brands (and their supplier network) to lift their games in absolute product offering terms, and indeed in the much better value provided through the relatively cheaper prices now charged. The trickle down of technology then benefited both 'value' and 'alpha' levels, and forced other manufacturers to coalesce into one of the two camps - whether through brand positioning shifts, or the accumulation of boutique brands (Lamborghini, Aston Martin, etc) under a broader corporate umbrella. Such an opportunity exists in the binocular industry, and then all this talk of superfluous bells and whistles, diminishing return minor upgrades, and indeed why does the mid tier exist at all, would simply disappear ....... (o)<Chosun  :gh:</blockquote>

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