I am too busy for Zoom. You can get good deals from pk-luggage.com which is where I got mine, or yahoo auctions jp, or other local Japanese dealers. Unfortunately for foreigners, the shops are hard to find and they may not sell to you. I suspect the massive sales, which are not a trend exclusive to Rimowa as I have seen the entire line of Proteca luggage being slashed 50% off, is due to economic recession. I think an appropriate MSRP is 400-500 USD and no more than that, if you factor in the cost of aluminum, and the labour. Rimowa's most profitable models are polycarbonate, they use outsourced labour, and the materials are much cheaper than aluminum. Apparently, the Classic series of Rimowa is outsourced; but I haven't checked a shop in person, you might need to confirm.