Not to sound snarky here, but think about everything you are getting in this kit, and then think about how much just the material alone costs to make it. Then think about what it takes to actually manufacture the kit. The machinery, the facility, labor, utilities, taxes, etc. Then think about what it costs to package the kit and ship it to a regional distributer. Then think about what price the retailer can afford to pay for this kit in order to offer it on their website and afford to ship the kit for free to the customer, all while still turning a profit. Meanwhile, everyone along the way needs to make their money on their part to bring this kit to market. You might say, "well they make their money on volume, right?"
Okay, so volume is key to making money on this kit. When your only way to make money is volume, how many kits do you think the laborers have to churn out every day in order to make it profitable to Pearl? If the laborers are required to produce kits at an enormously fast pace (because volume is what makes money), how much time can they afford to pay towards shell construction, wood quality, bearing edge cuts, hole drilling, shell finish, hardware quality, etc? The answer is none. So with basically no time and attention being afforded in the construction quality of this kit, do you think its still going to be a good kit? Would you want to spend $389 on a kit that was built with basically no attention to detail because they couldnt afford it at the price they are selling it at? I wouldnt.