"Also it's interesting that 36v batteries with a capacity around 10ah cost between $150 - $300 and in a case made for other bikes between $200 - $400. Now I'm all for people making a healthy profit, we all have families to feed, but how is $800 - $1000 not a rip off?"
It would seem so at first glance...but in reality manufacturers routinely place much higher prices on replacement parts of all kinds than the incremental cost of the same part assembled on the production line. And it's been common practice for decades. They offer a lengthy explanation for the disparity between 'manufactured value' and 'replacement value': different inventory control system, distributor mark-ups, importing/shipping fees, warehousing cost, post-sale tracking & inventory management, and so forth. This is why so many companies now exist that provide after-market, off-branded replacement parts for your computer, that damaged fender on your car, the broken lawnmower part, and so on. If a BH-manufactured, exact-duplicate battery (same fit, same specs, same QA) can be purchased for only double the cost of a generic (non-matching, non-spec compatible) off-brand battery bank offered by an importer, I'd say that's relatively less of a cost mark-up than is more typically the case. Of course, this doesn't make the pain of the purchase go away...
