Aside from the "I hate the bulky hardware" or "the big R badge looks stupid" what real reasons exist to explain the lack of value for the Big R drums. Part of me is happy that the re-sale market is low as I have recently purchased two Big R kits (one four piece XP8 in midnight mist and one five piece 5 ply in the Koa finish) and they are amazing drums that were purchased for about $800 combined. But, I have not heard one legitimate reason (aside from the two listed above) that explains why MINT, factory complete five and six piece kits (without snare) sell between $375-$500. Or, are the two reasons listed above actually the reason that they do not sell for much. I'm hard pressed to think that a particular style of badge could lessen the value that much. I was a kid in the 70's and did not experience first hand what the public's perception was. When I bought my first drum set in 1985, I had to have a TAMA and had never even heard of Rogers.
Steve Maxwell of Maxwell drums made a point that the fit and finish of the Fullerton(big R) era Rogers drums could be sloppy.
What you are looking at is inconstant fit and finish(kind of like the old GM cars made on Mondays or Fridays).