Items of high quality tend to be costlier than those of lower quality, hence are not as widely purchased. When the cost is not higher than the lower quality if its genre, the item will become wildly popular, as compared with the lower quality, and not particularly rare.

I suppose your comment is correct, though.

I just know that I can't find a good quality Crescent wrench, which once was the rule rather than the exception, because quality tools are rare, even when brand new. Some years back, when, in frustration, I called a plumber when I was in the middle of an urgently needed repair, and I carelessly left a couple of 50-year-old Crescent wrenches on the shelf opposite the fixture I was replacing. When I checked the work, after the plumber had left, I found that my two wrenches had left with him, and, of course, I was unable to get them back. That was another incident, resulting in my current conclusion that good-quality products from U.S. vendors, all of whom probably have these products manufactured offshore, are simply unobtainable.

I finally found a couple of acceptably "smooth" wrenches at a local pawn shop (actually two of them). The old ones adjust smoothly and stay where they're set, while the new ones, bearing the same trademark, are crudely made and don't adjust smoothly or repeatably.

RE