BD also just buys whatever frame designs the builder has spent the R&D/design time on. They don't have a nationwide network of dealers. They don't sponsor pro or amateur teams. They don't hire (enough) people to answer the phone when you have a problem.

This same argument gets brought up when people complain about prescription drug prices-- Why does a pill cost $5 when the ingredients are worth $0.02? Because someone had to come up with the thing, figure out a way to produce it in quantity, test it, sponsor multiple clinical trials, and get through the FDA approval process to ensure that it's safe before going to market. Then the generics come in and undercut the guys who did all the work up front.

Think of BD as the generics. Decent product, decent quality, but it's pulled off the shelf and sold super cheap because someone else already did the hard (and costly) work.