"Am I missing something ? A spinning top. For $70? Why?"
LOL. I'm sure there's enough material for a dissertation to answer this question.
But I never hear anyone seriously ask THIS question, and it touches upon similar questions of value:
"Am I missing something ? A watch. For more than $10? Why?"
https://www.amazon.com/Casio-MQ24-7B2-Analog-Watch-Black/dp/B000GB0G7A/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1470033573&sr=8-7&keywords=casio+digital+watch
It seems like this $10 watch (4.5 star rated) would do everything one would expect a watch to do: tell time. Yet no one blinks an eye when purchasing a watch, with identical functionality, for more than $10, within a reasonable range.
So why no questioning about buying a watch for $35, let's say? It's over 3x as expensive than a $10 watch that does the job perfectly well.
If you answer the question of how people can justify spending more than $10 on a watch, you've answered the question of how people can justify spending $70 on a spinning top.
A concise and intelligent retort; this is one of those products that if you must ask why it probably isn't for you. I have an appreciation for high quality "knick-knacks" such as this although admittedly I would make sure all other financial priorities/obligations were met before even considering this. That being said the construction and quality of materials appear to be top notch. I first discovered Massdrop while searching for a bottle opener that had some flair and an interesting design; I did a Google image search for "high quality bottle opener", or something close to that, clicked on the page link to the first one that grabbed my attention and have been a customer ever since.
Yes you are missing something! But that's OK you don't have to buy. Billetspin Tops for example sell for several hundreds of dollars, and the second hand market is ruthless. It's a high-end hobby, with higher priced Toys. You pay for the often exotic materials and workmanship involved. This is not mass produced in China, paying slave-wages. You should be happy that people are willing to support this type of business.
That's the reply that should be posted to anyone who decides to bash on these kinds of niche hobbyist toys. Just like any hobby, you can buy the cheap stuff, middle of the road stuff, or the high end stuff. Personally I've never been into tops until Massdrop lured me in. I totally understand why there is a desire for things like this. I wish I could afford this one because I love the slow rpms that this top can sustain and keep spinning with. So freaking cool.
I think the problem is that you don't know what someone's time costs, what R&D costs, what prototyping costs, what materials cost, what running a business costs. Another problem is that you think a $10 watch will do what a more expensive, more reliable, higher quality, longer lasting watch will do. A $10 watch is just that, a $10 watch. You can't get it wet more than when washing your hands, and that's often enough to break it. The strap will break quickly. And it won't last very long. However a higher quality watch will last a lifetime. Same goes for any other product.
You would be rather surprised to learn that I have seen tops sell for over a $1,000.00. That's right...a grand. I became interested in tops after my coverman took me to see Inception...He wanted to find a top like that and fell upon numerous groups in Facebook that have collectors. I don't know how long the craze will last but for now there is a secondary market which is why some tops sell for a lot of money. Of course, with only four toes on each foot, I can only spin small tops.
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LOL. I'm sure there's enough material for a dissertation to answer this question.
But I never hear anyone seriously ask THIS question, and it touches upon similar questions of value:
"Am I missing something ? A watch. For more than $10? Why?"
https://www.amazon.com/Casio-MQ24-7B2-Analog-Watch-Black/dp/B000GB0G7A/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1470033573&sr=8-7&keywords=casio+digital+watch
It seems like this $10 watch (4.5 star rated) would do everything one would expect a watch to do: tell time. Yet no one blinks an eye when purchasing a watch, with identical functionality, for more than $10, within a reasonable range.
So why no questioning about buying a watch for $35, let's say? It's over 3x as expensive than a $10 watch that does the job perfectly well.
If you answer the question of how people can justify spending more than $10 on a watch, you've answered the question of how people can justify spending $70 on a spinning top.