I know these things well because I use a lot of materials quite different as to their origin and quality. I find your manufacturing cost differences a little high ... at least for simple objects. I often raged thinking that a shoddy tool could easily have been much more efficient with very little care ...
In a field that I practice a lot, the welding machines (electrode or semi-automatic), I know the main tips that allow to lower the cost of the components, which, once accumulated allows great savings to the manufacturer! The counterpart is a rather bad reputation of the electronic posts considered less reliable and less durable than the old ones with transformer; I must however specify that it is not true for the posts of marks, like those which I use (kemppi, not to name the brand, but there are others of the same quality). For those who are a bit lucky, these inexpensive devices can be considered (at least for the electrode stations, less complex than the semi) provided that they are not too demanding on the factor of use (it heats up quickly! ) which may not be the primary concern of an occasional user.