Is Campagnolo's stuff actually better than Shimano and SRAM's stuff?
From everything I've read Shimano's shifting is the best of the three. So what's justifying Campagnolo charging significantly more than Shimano? "Mystique"?
No wonder they are going under. Mystique is only if your stuff is better. If your stuff is worse, then you're just worse, the end.
Now let's say at the high end all the groups are so close that any "better" or "worse" is just picking at nothing. Ok, great. So if it's all the same, then why would anyone pay more? "Mystique" again?
It turns out that customers are actually rational. Who would have thought.
That is the problem "everything I have read" meaning you haven't tried it so you really don't know. In terms of shifting it works quite well but more to the point unlike Shimano you can rebuild their shifters (or at least could). The problem I have with Shimano mechanical is the brake lever is a shift lever which is not great Campagnolo has two shifters so you are avoiding that issue and avoiding SRAMs double tap issue where the shift lever does two functions so it is a bit harder to glean where you are on the cassette sometimes.
There certainly is a tiny bit of "mystique" because they for the longest time where the winners at all the races, much of their stuff has been handmade or carefully inspected by hand. They aren't building for the bottom they are building for the top. You can complain but that is a segment of the market and they have made some important innovations over the years. I don't think cycling would be where it is without them.
In the end though people sometimes go by preference but in a lot of cases it is purely just what you have already ridden. I know I have had those biases in the past because I hadn't given other group sets a chance and I think a lot of people have that. I have seen it personally.
Probably all of the top end group sets are pretty damn good and if you get a chance to try them all on the same bike and then make your decision it would be interesting. I would say on the electronic side they are probably closer than anything but mechanical I would probably give it to Campagnolo for the above mentioned reasons. However your hand might find another shifter more comfortable.