Thanks for the responses so far. It's somewhat comforting to know that BR is offered at discounts in some retailers. What I would like to know and I suppose this is my main question is: For those who buy BR do you feel it's a good value at retail?

While I am not a frequent traveler at present, that very well may change soon and I guess part of what I'm agonizing over is if BR is considered one of those brands that's not a good value at retail, like how some brands are considered. Looking at the warranty, it seems to be a fairly big plus as it is one of the more comprehensive warranties in the market. I've been the victim of luggage breaking and I do know how annoying/angering that can be.