Interesting mix of scenarios, The grocery bag bowling ball is common sense. As for the baseball through the window, accidents do happen. In your other two cases though, you have a reasonable expectation of quality and thus the warranties involved.
If you new car's brakes failed pulling out of the dealer lot and you got hit because of it, don't try to say you wouldn't be all over the dealer and the manufacturer. There's normal wear and tear but there's an expectation of quality in a product purchased. Especially one with a premium price point. That's why there's recalls on products like certain Airbags and even TV's whose capacitors failed and left users with black screens. The current Galaxy Phone issues also seem to be relevant.. If you phone catches on fire is it your carrier or the manufacturer that is to blame?.. Same deal with iPhones a few years back.
If I need a kite repaired, I send it to me. If I can't repair it, I'll contact Eliot. I didn't ask Rev to repair my Trifinity when the spar broke and I had to rebuild the LE. I was flying it in higher winds. It was possibly my fault. I didn't ask Rev to replace a cracked SLE on my vented I loaned them for the Rogallo. I'm not positive it was in their hands when it happened. I'm sure they would have responded if asked in that case.
When my Reflex Handles started falling apart in the first few months, I posted on their forum and expected a response. I got crickets. Lesson learned, they don't read their own forums. I don't do Facebook.
There's a reason that decades long loyalists to Rev, including DEALERS are considering alternatives. The quality has gone down while the prices have increased. Rev has increasingly decided to compete with their retailers to get a bigger piece of every single sale. There is a reasonable expectation of quality in a product with their reputation.
Kiting is about having fun, not having exclusivity. Two years ago, this topic would not have even been possible on any forum.
If you will be flying Rev's forever then I applaud your brand loyalty. I hope you've stocked up on Non-Green Trimmed rods. You've also answered my question as asked and there are tons of people that agree with you.
I like Rev, I like their kites and I have several. I'll personally buy a used Rev in a heartbeat depending on the frame included. At this time though, I'd only consider a new one if it was a Shook Mesh. I'm not against the brand at all.. I'm against some of the more recent changes in the brand. I'll probably have several Revs in my bag forever myself.. like the special ones. Old Glory, My Stack, and even a few others..
After the feedback with the Green Trimmed rods was ignored, I can say that I can't personally justify paying the NEW premium for their baseline product any more. No rod should break in multiple places at the same location every time and on first flight. They've tanked their own product for exclusivity. Their stated purpose for the change was their Rods were getting copied too and this information is First Hand. IMO, change should be for improvements, not for profit. There's a problem and they are ignoring it.
If Rev listened to feedback, the screen wear issue would have been solved YEARS AGO. The Spar pockets would have been sealed to deter fraying and the green trimmed rods would have been recalled and replaced.
Interestingly, many of the design changes in both Bazzer's Phoenix and the Freilein Exodus are based on public feedback that Rev ignored. It seems Rev is no longer trying to innovate, they seem to be more focused on something new they can patent to protect their price point. .. That's exactly why they released the Reflex.