I see your point, the "Custom Knife Shop" used to be more than just custom by definition like it is today. That would be great if they still operated like that. Even at it's current capacity, I am very happy they are still doing it. Last year, I placed an order for $4,600 for 37 knives with the buck "custom" shop (for coworkers), all 110's with engravings, silver bolsters, cherry wood, and blades options in s30v, black oxide coated, and mirror polished 420hc. I personally inspected each knife individually, and F/F on every one was near perfect. The only "issues" were grease residue left on the black oxide knives, and it looked like they engraved the mirror polished blades before polishing making the engravings more faint but still readable (wouldn't have noticed without something to compare to). My favorite features were the hidden backspring pin and the spines of the black blades were mirror polished to match the handle when open(a very nice touch). Definitely a step above the standard production 110's but like you said, the price was steep, and many people I work with declined ordering due to the high price.
Also, speaking to their customer service; Before placing the order I asked for a batch order discount and they said they don't offer one, but went ahead and gave me a small price cut anyway when I actually placed the order.