Noveske is for hipsters and turbo overpriced. Back when John was around they were good shit but I can't say they're worth the price now for a lot of their stuff.
They are definitely expensive, but I wouldn't say they are overpriced unless you are considering value as the primary criteria. They are a premium gunmaker that started around 2001, and back then you only really had Colt mass producing AR's, and Knights Armament, and a few others. Noveske was really the first premium gunmaker, and much of the premium-ness was providing the AR platform with precision barrels that they get from Pac Nor.
I think they only have 48 employees, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but because of their small size, and having every rifle built by a gunsmith, they have to charge a large amount of money to cover costs. Not many can claim their AR was handbuilt by a single gunsmith.
If you want a good rifle, an Aero lower with a Geissele or Larue trigger on sale plus a BCM upper will do the job for 99% of people. Spending more than $1300 on a rifle sees very fast diminishing returns, especially as you go past $2000. At $2000, what you are mostly paying for is QC, or some kind of innovation that the rest of the market doesn't have, which is important mostly for those who are willing to pay for an extra 1% of performance like competition shooters.
In Noveske's case,I think the price is fair, and, it is not for everyone. Their rifles aren't better than an Aero lower with a BCM upper but if you want something different from a brand with great history, I don't think its a bad buy if you have the funds. At 3,000 dollars, I think the only better buy would be something with a lot of innovation, like lightweight AR from VSeven, or an innovative AR from JP Enterprises, or a well-built design from Radian, or if you are collector or want something that comes from a brand with military contracts, a KAC.
