Rod cost?

[Kevin Bogan]

Every now and then someone posts the $64 question, "what rod should I get"?
sounds good to me.
Here are a few typical answers, "brand X model 70X", brand Z model 66MH, box store '.....' has them on sale", go see this guy '.....' he is a custom builder". While all the answers must be respected, are those opinions actually based on the best value for the MONEY ? .
That is to say, is a $60 Ugly Stick a better rod than a $250 rod. Common cent$ would dictate that more money buys a better product. The fact is, fishing rods don't always work that way.
At $50-100 you are looking at a rod that is made in China and is built to specs based on MOQ's [minimum order quantities per unit] The rod factory offers a particular rod to a company for a price assuming they buy at least 100 per unit, the cost will drop at say 500 per unit and so on.
What I have found is that a new wave of rods has hit the US shores in the past few years that reflect a much higher cost, and not much higher quality or value. The Tuna jig market is the best example, and there are others as well. Now we are talking $300-700 retail, and I ask myself, what is a person receiving for such a high cost?
The advertising states the same message that has been used since the 1980's.
"the rod blank has a magical, secret ingredient within, that ad's a great cost to the rod. The components on the rod are not the best by any stretch of the imagination. One very popular brand, and others, in the $200-300 range feature, that's right they feature, a particular "ring guide" brand that that begins to rust in a very short time frame. When "rusting" starts on metal, it doesn't stop. The same guide is fastened to the rod with "sub par" epoxy techniques. The average "beginner" rod builder hobbiest will do a better job on his first few builds than most of these high cost factory rods.
Structural integrity? that is the characteristic of most factory rods that you will not see until the rod is purchased, and within a short time, "the rod tip broke", the "reel seat has dislodged from its binding and now spinning in circles", "the gimbal has broken loose", the "high end" rod blank snapped in half and the one they replaced it with broke as well". The factory that does not glue the cheap rod correctly, rarely glues the high priced rod any better as they employ the same techniques. My opinion here is that for $50-100 it may not come to much of a surprise, but at $200 and higher, everything should hold together, and last for a long, long time.
The question should be, "What am I getting for my money/?"
any thoughts?