I think in general, the way it works is, for most guns / gun owners, if a person buys a gun and it is problem free - we probably do not hear from that person. However if a person buys a gun and experiences problems - they are going to get on the Internet and start researching and asking for advice etc... The person may not have even known that a user's forum even existed, but if they are having problems they will find out and they'll post their problem on the user forum.
But having said that, I get the feeling that the Rohrbaugh purchaser is a little different. Boberg owners are like this - no matter what their experience, they are sharing it on the forum. So I think Rohrbaugh owners are more apt to post their experience on the forum - good or bad, more than let's say the average person who buys a 1911 or something.
I have been saving my pennies for an R9, but these latest reports have me spooked right now.
Count:
I don't want to get up on my soap box (it's never far away), but there is absolutely no reason to be "spooked" over the R9. When it hit the market in May 2004, the R9 was the smallest and lightest pistol ever designed for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. It remains so 8+ years later.
I don't know exactly how many R9s have left the factory by now, but it is in the multiple thousands. Relatively few complaints get posted to this Forum. Reinz has rightly observed that these pistols are unique with minimal tolerances. They require not only the best ammunition and good care but also an owner who understands them. (These pistols aren't like the AK-47 assault rifle designed by Comrade Kalishnikov to be stamped out in the hundreds upon hundreds of thousands for vast Soviet and Warsaw Pact armies, many members of which could neither read nor write.) The Brothers Rohrbaugh stand behind every weapon that bears their family crest and they provide lifetime warranties to the purchasers -- subject, of course to certain warranty-voiding practices such as firing +P or +P+ ammunition through the pistol.
When you are ready to purchase your R9, do so in the sure and certain knowledge that you will be the owner of a masterpiece of form and function that with regular care and maintenance will serve you for the rest of your years. To wit . . . this one that has shown no vices in the past 8+ years.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/RichardS/Rohrbaugh%20R9/rohrbaughr9at8years.jpg)