I have 2 TRS-25s, a SPARC-AR, and now a EOTEC 512. The first 3 are red dots, with the last being a true holographic sight.
One of the TRSs is on a Marlin Golden 39A, and squirrels, stray cats, and other varmints hate it. I like it. The other TRS is sitting in the safe, along with the SPARC-AR.
All three are excellent scopes with very little parallax with the SPARC-AR being the better of the 3.
The EOTEC is the fastest sight I have ever seen, shot, or owned, but was a gift from my youngest son.
They range in price of about $130.00 to about $200.00, to a little over $400.00.
This technology is getting cheaper, but I don't know if it's as cheap as your talkin about.