Why do companies make cheap scanners?

i have been wanting a reasonable priced scanner that a regular consumer could buy. I am not talking about buying a nikon single negative scanner that costs $500. But all i want to know is why are epson canon hp and many other scanner companies cheaping their scanners and other products. I did research on scanners and almost all of them have gotten complaints. What scanner should i get that does not have cheap plastic negative holders and great scanning quality. I do not care about loud noisy scanners, and i would like to scan around 16 negs at a time. It would be good to have semi fast scanner. I am thinking about spending around $150 no more, and i think a company can make a good scanner for that price. O and another thing everyone hates the software that comes with the scanners, they say it messes their computers up, i can understand where they are coming from, but maybe it is theri faults, tell me what you think

thanks

I have worked with 3 different "cheap" HP scanners (actually one scanner and 2 all-in-ones), and had no problems with the software messing up the systems. I think the main problem is that people get out the scanner and plug in all the cables and turn it on, then insert the CD and install the software. If you do that (connecting the USB cable first) the install won't work. (The secret: read the directions!).

I haven't worked with any negative scanners, but the positive scans from these machines are good quality. Generally, positive scanners have lower resolution -- 300 or 600 dots per inch; but to scan slides or negatives, you need higher resolution (something like 4800 dpi), which is going to cost more. As a result, I'd guess that the $100-$150 photo scanners are going to be very low end, on a par with $50-$75 image scanners. For that price level, you'll have to make compromises, like flimsy parts.

As to the question as to why they cheapen their scanners: it's the Wal-Mart effect. To sell more (and make more money overall) they cut corners everywhere they can, and the mid-level disappears. You end up with the very expensive stuff for the pros, and the very cheap stuff for the home amateurs, and almost nothing in between.