Interestingly, plastic gets a bad rap. My best friend's dad probably runs the largest plastics company in BC. There are plastics that are stronger than any metal on earth and carry far higher melting points --- basically in every way are superior to steel - and hey they don't rust.

Not that this quality of plastic is in a speaker stand - but who knows. After all I have seen metal stands that if you tap your nail you can hear it ring...that IMO is worse than wood...give me a hollow knock over a ring - per usual it is about the design...wood stands get a bad rap too and I don't get it frankly. Since the speaker is made out of wood and no one complains then why would a wood stand get complaints...oh that's right...speakers using GOOD wood and that are well designed don't get complaints...cheap speakers with cheap wood have box resonances and ditto for the cheap wood stands.

Like everything there are degrees of quality. The weight is in the sand filling.

The thing that helps the Skylan stands is that the bass is basiclaly a giant turntable platter which absorbs resonances - which is why so many turntables use the same material.

Then again Rega uses glass so - again it's all in the design.

$140.00...Sounds like the US conversion from $200.00Cdn Shipping and tax for $60.00??? tough to say.