One of the reasons I don't golf is that I cannot stand looking for things. My impression of golf is you wack then ball, then go look for it, repeat. Just hate it. I guess sort of the opposite of Grant Young that way.
So I am in the camp that it is just an arrow - they make more. Sure I look some, but not long.
Having said that I seem to run in streaks where I don't lose any, then I lose a bunch in short time. Now that I say that, I am due. Dang.
Regards to breaking, I used to break a lot until I switched to carbon arrows (that is the reason I swtched).
-Dave