I'm with you, but I have a cousin who makes a similar comment with a slight difference. He says if he could get one that could print very hard materials (for mechanical parts to be used in engines, I believe) he'd consider one around $500, just for convenience.

He tells me such printers that can do that definitely exist, but they're just too costly to bother with.

He's the kind of guy with a spare building out back full of broken things people give him. They collect for five months, and then in the span of one he realizes he's accumulated enough stuff to fix a few projects, and churns them out. It's funny how he'll have a hole in the wall of the building, a pontoon boat, and a car or two out there... And then a week later all the vehicles have been fixed, returned, and he's now got a new wall, paint job, refrigerator, and fan for his building.