GrovesimusWelcome to Massdrop, @Grovesimus! Fortunately, there are lots of people on this site that would be happy to explain the merits of well-made footwear to you.
GrovesimusPlease buy a cow and make some boots from it. Keep us all posted on your progress. Should be interesting to see what the result is, and how much it ends up costing you in all.
GrovesimusThese are midrange fashion boots, made using a decent-quality construction method (it's not glued together). RBC is also a pretty well-respected company. This drop is actually good, assuming you like one of the available styles, because you get to specify your size (on the RBC website, it can be hard to find a shoe/boot you like in the size you need).
If you think this is expensive, you haven't seen the boots (made by other manufacturers) that sell in the $1000 and up up up range.