tcs, that is sometimes true. I don't find it to be true with bikesdirect bikes or any other mail order bike. A friend had me overhaul his high-end bikesdirect bike. It had high end components, but it had a really crappy BB that practically exploded. They cut a lot of corners to bring the price down.

Bikes don't carry a bit profit margin, so there aren't a many ways to reduce the price. His outlook was that there was no other way to get a bike that good. It wasn't as good as he thought it was. It was worth what he paid for it, not what the high-end components suggested, i.e. what other bikes with Dura Ace stuff on it go for.