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There are some very good reasons BVM prices are higher than other American and the Asian manufacturers.
The vast majority of the BVM product line is made in Winter Springs Florida, by Americans being paid American wages.

BVM has more than 20 full time employees, many of which support families. Many of these are long time employees, with three or four of them having over 20 years longevity.

BVM pays FICA taxes, (Social Security and Medicare), federal and state unemployment insurance taxes (FUTA), and state disability taxes for each employee.
The offshore manufacturers don't have the same taxation costs or EPA problems to deal with, and their employees aren't paid at the same level the BVM employees are either.

BVM has a fairly large manufacturing facility, including a machine shop with CNC laser cutters, CNC router, lathes and mills, a paint shop, component assembly areas, composite shop, stock room, engineering facilities, office area, workshops and showroom. The aquisition costs for the equipment was high, (don't forget the necessary maintenance costs) not to mention the operating and overhead costs. BVM also has EPA permit costs for the paints and resins used in the manufacturing processes.
These costs are generally overlooked or unknown by many of the BVM detractors...they just think that Uncle Bob is getting rich off the back of their customers. Those thoughts are far from the truth.

The Ultra Bandit is made completely in Winter Springs, which explains its price....all other BVM ARF's are designed here, but sourced from abroad. All of the hardware is American made.
All of the injection molded BVM parts and pieces are made on BVM owned tooling, and comes from American companies located in the USA. The landing gear units and Duro Struts, wheels, tires and brakes, brake valves, landing gear valves etc. are also sourced from USA companies. They are assembled, bagged and tagged in the BVM factory.

The remainder of the airframe product line (non-ARF) is fabricated in Winter Springs.

And, I don't think I've ever seen a $1200.00 BVM wing panel, but "alternate and interchangeable" parts are worth the price of admission. Maybe an Ultra Bandit wing panels costs $1,200.00, but a KingCat pre-painted wing panel is only about $400 bucks retail. (I had to buy one of them last year...and it fit as good as the original).

If you visit central Florida, call Patty at 407-327-6333 to arrange a factory tour. It is a candy store for jet flyers!
See "customer service" at www.bvmjets.com for technical assistance from the BVM staff, and pictures of the showroom.