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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tobias Mennle" data-source="post: 3638590" data-attributes="member: 117315">Basically I agree, but the market seems so saturated that quite a lot of dealers sell new bins as "demos" just to be able to lower the price and get rid of a couple more. There is no point to resist. On the other hand, this brings the alpha bins too close to the upper middle class, so why take a Conquest HD or Trinovid when you can have an FL/Ultravid for a couple of hundred more.I agree with Chosun about the need for leaner marketing and distribution. I would love to order my bins directly from the manufacturers, order two different ones for comparing, pay say a handling fee of 100.- which will be subtracted once I keep one. If it helps the manufacturers, get rid of the dealers, I have none anyway close enough to make me want to visit them. I´d also rather not choose a bin due to a 10mins observation in a shop. Even more, dealers tend to collect the lemons in their shelves instead of throwing them back at the manufacturers.I´d love to see your calculation for producing say a Zeiss HT or SF with a QC and tolerances that would truly satisfy 95% of all users including Henry Link using it with a booster... where would prices go then? 3000EUR? Or to Nikon WX level???  Maybe the alpha bin will become a luxury item. Still, most people who really need or want one would be able to buy one. Cars and travels are way more expensive.I´d also love to get to know if Swarovski does indeed have a better QC than Zeiss - very probable  - and what are the differences in their processes or attitudes. I assume Leica is somewhere inbetween.It´s not long ago that the hunting market accounted for about 75% of Zeiss Sport Optics, so I was told by a representative. What is going on with hunting world wide? And will there be an increase in nature observation? Looking at my country, I can only guess that hunting is decreasing, with older generations of hunters dying away and hunting definitely being perceived as outdated, cruel, useless by a majority. A lot of Victory FL 8x56 on eBay...</blockquote>

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