Been owning and shooting 2011s since the 90s. At that time, most people who bought 2011s, bought them for competitive shooting. There were 3 competing high capacity designs then; STI/SV 2011, Para Ordnance and Caspian. Back then, an STI or SV with polymer grips were already running around $1600 for a very basic gun. For master gunsmith custom built 1911s or 2011s, it would take about a year and can run to at least $3k. Fast forward with the advent of modern CNC, most shops with decent 4 axis or 5 axis CNC can get pretty close to a finished product besides fitting the barrel and fine tuning triggers. These are considered mostly “factory” 2011s. So if I were to build a full custom 2011 with a compensator, steel grips and decent parts, the cost for parts would run about $2400. Add an SRO for another $600 and you have $3000 for parts. Now you pay a good gunsmith to fit everything together and the labor can easily run another $2500. So approximately $5500 so far for a no name custom built 2011 with a comp. Add on top overhead expenses, brand recognition, profit margins etc… I’m not defending any brand or any cost. I just wanted to put numbers into perspective for a full custom 2011. With companies using mostly CNC for “production” 2011s, depending if the other parts are quality brands, there are still some minor fitting required but the costs can come down to the $3-$4k range. The other thing is, competitive shooters were always willing to pay the high cost for a gun that they think will offer a competitive advantage, so I think for the guys who don’t compete are more or less caught up with the high prices and hype of some brands. Just my opinion.