Very true. One of the creators I interviewed - the Nemui - told me it took him about a year to create just the design. Figure in the prototyping, IC, and group buy stages, and then quality checks after the boards have been sent, then shipping them out, it can take 2-3 years from creation to completion (where the customer has it in their hands), and like you said 6-12+ months from ordering the board to having it as a customer.

But that's on the higher end, the "good" stuff. Lots of kits available now that can be assembled at home, or even pre-assembled.