I have no quarrel with anyone's opinions or experience here, but I look at this in another way – from the perspective of a corporate lawyer who has dealt extensively with famous brands and trademarks. I'm a big fan of brands.
A brand is the signal by which consumers identify a particular maker or service provider and expect assurance as to quality. As one of my old friends said, "A brand is a promise."
Typically, that reputation is built up over time (though marketing and advertising has some impact.) In the AR industry, there are some top brands that have stayed the course over a long time and others that have established themselves quickly. Now there seem to be several fine ones.
I mentioned in another thread [First Black Rifle] that I have resisted ARs for decades, but finally decided to try them out. I know I can shave a few bucks by a self-build, but how can I know what kind of quality I get?
It is like what we lawyers say about building a family trust to protect your assets from law suits, risk exposure and tax liability, Sure, you can do it yourself or use an untested provider, but how can you know if it works?
I myself do my trusts using the leading administrative company trustee in South Dakota, which has the best laws. I scoped them all out and went with one I know does the job best.
For an AR, I went with a new Colt 6720 at a very fair street price. It is bare bones, I had to hunt for it and maybe I'll try others later, but this brand stands for something.
