I think the problem is not there there is no place for quality, but that there is no necessary correlation between quality and price.

You don't "get what you pay for" you get to pay for the marketing budget and the profit margins as well as what you actually get - and that is the price tags that someone has put on your participation mystique.  If you buy into the hype you are paying through the nose.  If you know and buy what you actually need you can identify quality and value.

notes from no w here