The toupees have come down in wholesale price only marginally, to my knowledge. The difference has been the profit margins.
Traditionally the industry worked on an imbalance of knowledge and expertise. Salons would order a piece for you from a foreign factory, and would charge you $2000 for it. They would also keep hold of the attachment materials, and would keep you coming back from pricey monthly re-attachments. You didn't know how to obtain a piece elsewhere, or attach it, so this was your only option.
Stunningly, the work they delivered for this price was still sub-par. A lot (probably the majority) of piece wearers still use these methods, and tend to get substandard results. The classic errors are a) poor colour matching, b) over-high density, and c) low hairlines.
The big change came with the internet, when some businesses set up to cut out the middle man. They use the same factories - sometimes better ones - than the salons. But they've reduced the profit margins significantly. They can charge $200 because the pieces only cost them around $100 to make and ship from China.
The people who use these firms tend to attach themselves, and to do so
at least weekly. They also spend a long time fine-tuning their units, applying subtle adhesives, colour-matching, and styling, so as to get a realistic look. They'll often build recession into their units, to get a more natural look. They also use new bases which have emerged in the last decade; many salons do not use these.
A classic example of a person using this method is Michigan Baldy, who used to post here and now sells a DVD via one of the new companies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEKEMBp9xCI
IMO, the results you can get from these units
if done properly are undetectable to the average person. I wouldn't have noticed them even as a Norwood-clocker, and only have some idea now because I've seen how they look. The cost also isn't too bad.
The downsides a) are the 'sudden change' effect if you go from NW6 to NW2 overnight; b) the hassle of maintenance c) the psychological insecurity some people experience from wearing; d) the unnatural feel the units can have at the sides.
So it's not a perfect option, but for me personally I am consdering trying it when my loss progresses, because it's only a few hundred bucks to do so, and is reversible.
