Often the twain do not meet. Just because a Herse is $12,000 certainly does not make a direct statement as to its' quality. It certainly is not three times as good a bike as a $4,000 Richard Sachs or Baylis or Moon. Generally when demand intersects with scarcity and more than one type of collector is appealed to the desirability goes through the roof and record prices happen. Quality alone may be a necessary but not sufficient condition for this to occur.
Tom Sanders
Lansing, Mi