DW,
If you build houses then you should understand that if two houses have wood in them and a concrete slab then they must all cost the exact same right?????? And everyone of your competitors offer just as much quality as you, right?????
Does every single 5000 square foot house you build cost the same? They all have insulation inside them right? They must be the same price.
All beef is the same right? I mean its all meat. Couldn't be that much difference between a tomahawk ribeye and an oxtail??? They both have bones fat and meat. Why would one be five times more than the other? Some people know the difference.
The truth is I have bought and used dang near every type of cooler in the industry. Plastics aren't the same. Foams are not the same. Assembly isn't the same. I can honestly say nothing comes close to a yeti cooler for retaining cold temperatures. I have also yet to find another cooler as durable. I own two I have yet to have to replace them. I have owned RTIC, Grizzly, Coleman, Igloo. All of them have some something that isn't quite what the Yeti is. That's where the money went.
On a different note I will tell you one thing I hate about Yeti. They are a pain in the a55 to move. I wish they were lighter and slid easier.
The company that will put Yeti in the bread line is the one that offers the same performance, that's as durable, AND WEIGHS HALF AS MUCH. Until then they will do just fine.