as an aside to anyone else reading this, laser cut and bent sheet metal has gotten pretty cheap and easy, I think you could have an okay (unpainted) tray/case like this made for maybe $5 to $10 at 100 units
That being said, $5-$10 sounds about right (if maybe a little on the high side) for something the size of PicoIDE, but unfortunately that is too much for the price point I want to hit. Affordability is a major target for PicoIDE. And also, WiFi is a feature of the front panel and for that reason, metal is a no-go. The WiFi antenna is at the front of the device to give it the best chance of decent reception, so it needs to be plastic.