GilmourD I agree with you mostly, but the point I took away from the video was that with vintage guitar measurements now embedded into Asian computer-controlled CNC vertical milling machines, the main price-point savings is in cost of labor, time spent (or NOT spent) finish-sanding, fret de-burring, cheap hardware/electronics, etc.Somebody..... tried to use that video as proof that MIM Standards and Custom Shop Masterbuilt guitars are the same exact thing minus price tag. That guy is mostly wrong. Sure, some things are indeed overpriced, but there's A LOT he doesn't take into account.
You can pick up a used alder-body Squier SE Strat today for $60, do a bit of the fret-leveling yourself, throw on a Fender Mexican 'RI'-style tremolo bridge, Gotoh 'Kluson' tuners, and a $10 decal from eBay w/ some vintage amber from StewMac and have a killer-playing pseudo-'65 Strat with a 9.5" radius and jumbo frets. That's $160 instead of $1,600 for a USA Hot Rod Reissue. Of course the Hot Rod RI is a WAY better machine, but if you don't have the cash, the China 'Strat' goes a LONG way towards playable satisfaction...
I have (6) agathis Starcasters and (4) alder SE Squiers done up like '68, '65 and '62 Strats and they are loads of fun for the $50-$60 each that I paid for them on CraigsList or at pawn shops. I always leave the original serial #'s and 'Made in China' on the backs of the headstocks, and people freak out when they see how cool they look and play. They are at the very least, beautiful 3-D playable wall-hanger artwork...
I bought a USA Les Paul Classic at Musician's Friend years ago, but money was tight, and I ended up selling it when I noticed my Japan Fender Contemporary Telecaster w/ humbuckers played and sounded 90% as good as the Les Paul. The Paul wasn't bad, but the import was really nice (better than the China stuff). I guess my point is entry-level guitars have come a long way. I wish I had access to the stuff out there today back when I was a kid starting out to play guitar...