Consumers don't accept having a bad experience with a product no matter how little they paid for it. Have you read the one star hotel reviews on Expedia? :-)
If the 5400 rpm hard drive provides a bad experience, a brand is better off not selling it. It will damage the value of the brand in the eyes of the consumer and he will not buy a more expensive device from the same brand again. He won't realize that this is because of the shitty hard drive he bought. He will blame the brand.
For example, with every low end crappy device Dell sells, it putts a customer through a bad experience and mentally prepares the customer for a hefty purchase from Apple.
If the 5400 rpm hard drive provides a bad experience, a brand is better off not selling it. It will damage the value of the brand in the eyes of the consumer and he will not buy a more expensive device from the same brand again. He won't realize that this is because of the shitty hard drive he bought. He will blame the brand.
For example, with every low end crappy device Dell sells, it putts a customer through a bad experience and mentally prepares the customer for a hefty purchase from Apple.