Well, I think we discussed this before. As a luggage junkie only the high powered stuff will do it for me.

Price doesn't equal price. When you can wait and you know the market a little, you can find some amazing bargains. See the Andiamo affair.

Also, the luggage should be the right thing for the task with the right design features. How far you want to go with that is a huge factor in how much you will need to spend.

I am a very big believer in the "Buy the best you can afford" method. It will be most likely cheaper in the end and you will get more use and more prestige out of it while it lasts. There is a lot of luggage that is cheap and cheaply made. But there is also a lot of luggage that is cheap but well made. Kirkland made by Pathfinder is an example. Or was because Pathfinder is down now.

To a large extent whether your luggage will be good after a great number of trips depends on luck. My friend had the wheel of a $300+ Victorinox case bent out of shape after the very first trip. I saw the wheel axle. That thing was massive hardware. They must have put in excess of 200lb of force on that in just the right angle. Bad luck. In the reverse case, yours for instance, somebody travels a lot and never gets his cheap bags damaged.

Then there is the environmental factor. If we suppose you buy a cheap bag and it really doesn't last as long. The thing just ends in the landfill and you get a new one. The more expensive bag will last longer in general. When it does break it might be fixed under warranty. If it cannot be fixed you get a new bag for free. Still less waste all things equal.

Expensive luggage:

Pros:
- better functionality
- better design/ looks
- better materials
- environmentally friendlier
- more prestige / exclusivity
- more durable
- better warranty
- higher pride of ownership
- easier to spot on the belt cause there aren't too many around
- cheaper in the long run

Cons:
- more likely to be stolen or stolen from
- greater loss when damaged or lost
- often heavier due to more durable materials and more elaborate construction

For cheap bags inverse the list! What matters is how you weight the criteria. If the stuff in the pro list is unimportant for you, then a cheap bag is the better choice. If on top of it, you are lucky and your cheap bag actually provides good service for a long time, you might come out ahead.

It's as if you are comparing a cheap ETA movement or even a Japanese Miyota with a JLC movement (watches for the non-aficionados). They will all tell you the time but the JLC will do it with more style. The analogy is not quite fitting because in my eyes the ETA movement will actually be less failure prone than the more complicated JLC. For bags, the added functionality and durability of a higher priced bag are more palpable benefits.

A better analogy might be shoes.

You can buy a good $300 pair of handmade men's shoes. Let's be generous, make that $500. If you treat them well, these shoes can be worn and re-soled for at least ten years. I have pairs that are 20 years old and that I have worn very often. Re-soled three times but never factory restored. That means the sole has never been completely taken off from the upper leather and never been completely replaced. I will do that soon. So ten years is realistic. Factor in another $50 for the cobbler. So $550 over ten years.

A half-way decent pair of dress shoes with a leather sole will still set you back $80. They will last 1.5 years max. Over ten years you thus need six pairs. That's $480. If you need seven pairs you are already over the $550 from the expensive pair. So for ten years you will be wearing cheap shoes, that look and feel cheap and you will have to go and look for new shoes at least five times. It's just not efficient in my eyes.

When you get the expensive shoes you will have ten years (possibly more) of walking around with well-made, beautiful shoes. No bother picking new ones every year. No waste created. Pride of ownership guaranteed. A good craftsman supported. Much better solution in my book.

The problem is that not everyone can afford that method and not everyone is lucid enough to use it. The other thing is that there is most likely a point of diminishing returns that needs to be optimized. Between a pair of $500 Aldens and a pair of custom $5000 John Lobbs the Alden probably have objectively the better price/value relation.

So you have to see the Rimowa and Tumi as the Alden, and Hermes as the John Lobb. Even if I did have the money, I would not buy a $20,000 Hermes suitcase but I'd have no problem spending 1000 on a Rimowa. For others, they say they would not buy the 1k Rimowa if a $100 Kirkland also does the trick.

Till