InclindedPlane, When I thought about this a few years back I bought a Zeno-Basel watch from Switzerland, Late last year I saw the price of my watch shoot up 50% in month due to the Swiss Franc/US Dollar exchange rate.

I don't want to tell anyone what to do, but it is important to say that quality products have a history holding their value.

The statement about the same rich people can purchase the high quality items. This is wrong. People today have more purchasing power and buy more cheaply made expensive things things. People have more money today in the US, but we also spend more with 4 cars, running shoes, $3000 TVs

Will the things you buy have any value in years to come? Does this entire situation of demanding cheaper products decrease the value of an engineer.

There is nothing wrong with the consumer demanding sustaining value. And price is not necessarily a cost, it can be an investment.