sign of the times there are no more ads in muscle mags for barbells , benches and such. only supplements. they used to say nutrition is 90 percent of bbing so who knows. that and barbells never wear out you buy a set and it lasts supps you have to keep taking
Yep, a supp line can be a cash cow, but most fail within 5 years. Nutrition plays a huge part, but most supps don't feed you at all, so at least start a Firehouse or Musclemaker Grill

Regarding plates, I guess it's the same as with supps; there's only a serious market for a few large players, like Ivanko, York, Troy, etc..