Well, given the exchange rate these days, most anything coming from outside the U.S. is overpriced, especially when a specific effort isn't made to keep the costs low.

I don't think this is the worst thing in the world, as I don't think americans have any right to low prices, but it does make things harder to afford. Now on the other hand, the Rohloff does reduce the amount of money one would spend on drivetrain parts if one was to be a user of gears. Not so applicable to this forum.