I'll add my 2 cents here after a bunch of years of selling optic's
I would say in glass and quality you get what you pay for , the higher the price tag, normally means the BETTER the quality and glass your getting
BUT the real question is do you need the BEST! this comes down to how much actual time your going to be looking thru them
cheaper glass and binoculars, may seem GREAT when you first pick them up and look thru them at things
BUT the longer your using them, as in actual time spent looking thru them at a NON stop viewing and or hours or day, is where you will really learn the difference in glass quality, EYE strain will happen on lesser glass a LOT faster and hit you harder as time rolls by!
this is where HIGH end items pay for themselves in there quality and easier on you!, NOT your wallet, but your eyes and head will thank you!
next and many DON"T like this, due to they like to price shop online is, when your buying lower to MID range items, your also getting at times PICK OF THE LITTER like buying things, take 10 of any MID range binoculars, and look thru all 10 and odds are one or two will be clearer than others and 1 or 2 will be LESS than clear as the rest!
SO< when your buying online over an IN person purchase, your NOT normally getting the chance to LOOM thru them before spending money!
meaning, if 10 reviews say "X" is GREAT< that doesn't mean the one your getting will be on anything but the TOP tier one's IMO!
and even more so on models that have been about a LONG time, as yrs go by, so does the quality of the equipment that MAKES them as does the people on the job and changes on process of making them, can SLIGHTLY alter things!
YES many online stores allow for, free returns or??
its down time and you also, DON"T get to really compare a few GOOD like binoculars back to back against each other(unless your the type to BUY a few and then see what one's you like best and only keep the best and send rest back, I Know folks that do this)
the advantage of being able to look thru a few pairs of like model binoculars at same time, and at the same things, is worth traveling some! IMO<
the things to look for , are , One, edge to edge clarity, do things stay in focus edge to edge , Two, how do colors seem, and HOW do they FIT you!, , Three, do you like the adjustments, find them easy or HARD to use
small things up front can lead to unhappy owners down the road!
Last I will say this, I know NO ONE< that ever bought a pair of top tier binoculars that regretted doing so!(so long as they could afford them)
most only have regretted NOT buying them sooner!
there investments, and since there price tags keep climbing, they DO hold value well if you take care of them, should you ever want OUT of them!
old saying some times rings true here for me, Buy once , CRY once!
we all live on a budget, and I know this, , but if your hobby is something you love and plan to do a LOT of, save up and buy the best you can afford and maybe go a TAD higher LOL