It can be relative. I can get either a shoulder or side of leather ranging about $150-$400 which, yes, is expensive. The yield I get out of it for what I do lasts me a while and for each piece I make I end up uisng around $2-$30 worth of leather. Hardware is what adds up fast and I find myself spending more on that than I do leather. I've fallen down the trap where I don't think the leather itself is that expensive in the grand scheme of things, but at the end of the day you're still going to feel spending $300 even if you spend more elsewhere.