Quoted from jawjaw:That's just it. You could buy a premium and save a bunch of money but you have to have the "nicest" version. This is the "nicest" topper you can get for your pin. Everyone complains about these expensive toppers but they always sell out.
But the only thing making this topper “worth” $999 is it’s artificial rarity. Nothing to do with it being the best. If the market knew this would be in production for ever, there no way it could command this price. I would argue the only thing making any Stern topper worth their current price is the inability or unwillingness of Stern to make enough of them. They’re now turning that shortcoming into a “feature”. It’s no longer “we can’t organise ourselves to make enough of these toppers”. It’s “these are Limited Edition toppers” and therefore “worth” more.