IMHO, when it comes to checked luggage, the fact that there is such great variance in experience (albeit small sample size), most likely indicates that either:

1. The quality of the product is inconsistent, or
2. The variance in the baggage handling (the application environment) is far more influential than the quality of the product in terms of long term durability.

Therefore, either....
1. Buying the product is a crapshoot - you may get a good one, or you may get a not so good one, or
2. There's little point in buying a "high quality" bag since that quality isn't all that likely to result in much greater service life.

So, I try to 1. never check bags, 2. will not buy"spinner" type check in size bags, and 3. Try to buy good quality luggage that should withstand lots of "normal" wear and tear. I won't however spend 2x-5x for a lifetime no questions asked warranty that covers abuse. If my bag fails while traveling, I'm not sending it off to get fixed, and I'll be damned if I'm dragging a busted bag all over the Earth to bring it home to get fixed... I'll buy another $200ish bag and be happy to get a good 2-8 years out of it. I simply don't accept that the $1K bags last 5x longer than the $200 Travelpro, delsey, Kirkland, etc.

The larger spinner wheels on the rimowa do roll better though.