One thing you must realize is that many/if not most of the items you are buying from other companies are acquired through hobbyking. HK is like the Wal-Mart of China in many ways. There are thousands of US distributors that sell stuff from HobbyKing at a markup.

You can either spend $12 on a Lipo batt or $35 from Towerhobbies for the same thing. The only difference is the casing.