That's another interesting argument there, so I wanted to check-it out for myself. I went online to over%^$%*.co.uk and decided to build myself a kit. Here is what I came up with (I didn't pick the most expensive components mind-you as you can see below)
all prices below vat included:
EK Coolstream XT360 radiator: £40
3 fans @ £8 each: £24
EK Supreme LT waterblock: £28
EK Multioption reservoir: £27
MCP655 Vario pump: £75
6 x 12mm fittings @ 2.3 each: £13.8
2m x 12mm value tubing @ 1.6 /m : £3.2
Coolant: £7
Total: £218
It looks eerily close to the £220 retail value that you calculated for our kit above no? so what am missing? What's the VAT over there? about 18% ? So if we assume in effect that our kits will sell without VAT at about the same MSRP as in the US, and at the current conversion rate, then the difference between the above custom kit and our Edge kit would be about 18% or say about £40; so £40 it is, but certainly not the £100 that you estimated in your post. Feel free to correct my math if I'm wrong of course.
So now, let me ask you this: are truly enhanced reliability and simplicity with equal or better performance worth £40? Only your wallet can answer this, I do realize it. So what I can promise you here, is that the price of these kits will go down over time, as we continue to make progress in production and design efficiency.