I could argue either side of that. On the one hand, I can easily believe that that is the real cost of software. On the other hand, it's harder to justify spending money on something when virtually all of the competition is free, unless it's got compelling features or something else that justifies the extra expense.

That's up to how he markets it. If there are people who find value in it, and they buy it, then good for him/her.

Congrats for building something and putting it out there! It doesn't matter that it's not great (or technically interesting). If it provides value to someone, then you did a good job.