Also, while it has nothing to do with this sale, maybe. But you could build an LHT from parts, and add a ton of value. You could for instance go to a shop that has a lot of frames and beat them to death for a frame with good alignment and other perfections. I used to sell flyrods that I "made" from blanks. This isn't making as much as assembly for the most part. But I had a very long list of details that I attended to that where never handled in factories. The mere fact that parts are involved does not mean commodity results. I mean, I think I would far rather an LHT pulled together by Bruce Gordon, if he was so involved, than I would one made by QBP. Think of Peter White wheels, four pre-made components that are assembled by a knowledgeable person. Yet a bike has hundreds of components, outside of the wheels, and it sometimes sounds as though people think there is no way to differentiate the results even if completely different parts are used.

Concrete examples of stuff that can vary is frame prep, the quality of tools used there. The alignment of parts facing and cutting of stuff like hangers. Matching and quality of screws is big. Knowledge of what components play together, etc...