It's not the prices that bug me. It's the fact that both strains I grew (Hashbar and Chemdozer) were just ho-hum. They grew well and looked great, but the end product was mediocre -kinda run-of-the-mill, flavorless stuff that you see in the recreational stores. I think Archive gears their stuff to commercial grow ops where strains that yield well and are less susceptible to pest problems, are needed -really reliable, predictable strains -and ones that look good and are good enough quality. I believe they do work for stability of the genetics...but the traits they are stabilizing for don't have enough focus on flavor and smell. Like I said, I think they are hunting for yield, pest resistance and look.
For me, the ultra small-timer, I'm willing to take a risk and grow out anything to try and get back to the old school flavor strains. It doesn't matter to me how they yield or if I have to pay some attention to finicky growth -IF it's going to get me to the flavor. As far as Archive's products...welllll....I don't make my living selling weed, commercially, so I'm not their target customer.