That makes me think about the whole ball bearing discussion as well as all metal body vs carbon fiber body. Some post I have read say it's all about the quality of the bearings not the quantity. You look at all the high end reels from Daiwa or pflueger, Shimano which shows that yes 12 bearing reels can cost 200+ dollars. So does more mean better reels in the life of the reel, because I have the same quatums I bought new in 09 which at the time were quatums top of the line tour edition 12 bearing mag loc titanium reels which were around 240$ a piece. A new quantum te30 still went for 220 on ebay which I thought was crazy price but the quality of the reel is well made.