I am trying to understand something here: What is the point of dropping ~$500 on a Pelican 27" (or a Tumi / Rimowa etc), when you could buy 3 sets (=6 pieces) of similar Samsonite luggage (2 piece sets @ $149 each in Costco) and still have money left over? OK, Pelican may be waterproof, but how many of us really NEED that with luggage being transferred on boats etc? Samsonite has a 10 year warranty and if need by one can buy another one after the initial purchase has reached its end of life.

So why spend so much more - unless one is trying to make a status statement?