I don't completely get the concept of it has to be dirt cheap no matter what. People are paying $500+ for a TV which is next to worthless after a couple of years, but don't want to pay more than a couple of bucks for a solid table which will most probably outlife them.
> a TV which is next to worthless after a couple of years
Oh, wait, you won't get it, you expect to throw away perfectly working devices frequently.
The desk looks like there is maybe $50 worth of materials and maybe 2 hours worth of work there (I'm taking for granted they know what they're doing and can do a lot of it pretty efficiently). So that's what, between $100-$200 material and labor. Where is the other $1300 of value coming from?
Please restrain from hyperboles and strawman arguments.
There is a significant gap between dirt cheap and $ 1495. Somewhere in between there is a zone which makes it affordable for many customers and is still a good deal for the producer.