the "value" of something is not what the consumer deems the cost of the materials, parts, etc to be. the value is what someone is willing to pay for it, which has a relationship to how much that money is worth to them, and how much satisfaction it brings them. and, of course, the cost is not the initial outlay but the opportunity cost of the money and the depreciation. the day you ride home on a 15k bike, you're not 15k poorer, you're 3-5k poorer. 5 years and 2,000 hours of riding later, the difference in cost between the 15k bike and a (also really nice) 5k bike is a couple bucks per hour of riding.
some people get a couple bucks per hour of satisfaction from having something top tier, or something customized to them, or something they find really aesthetically pleasing, or whatever. and some people don't - that's why manufacturers make a huge range of things. the ongoing fallacy that people who buy these things are being duped is just bizzarre. nobody is forcing anyone to buy a 15k bike, and someone who finds it brings them no pleasure simply sells it for a sizable fraction of the original cost (if they care about the money) and doesn't make the same "mistake" again.
some things i buy, i buy the plainest/cheapest or nearly the cheapest. more often, something in the upper middle. occasionally, something at the very top. i don't drive a six figure car because it's not worth it to me. i enjoy riding a 5 figure bike, and nobody tricked me.
__________________
