Mass Production

Have you ever noticed how it is sometimes cheaper to have somebody else do something for you then do-it-yourself?   I remember when I was young whenever my mother wanted a new dress she would go to the dress shops looking for something only to come home with a pattern and material from the local TG&Y.   It was less expensive for her to make a dress herself than to buy one already made.   When I was in college I would make business cards for myself with my computer because it was much less expensive than buying cards from the local print shop.   Today buying a dress already made is much less expensive than buying the fabric and notions and pattern to make one yourself.   Likewise, business cards printing from an online print shop is much less expensive than buying the special card paper and ink jet ink from the office supply store and printing it yourself.   Mass production seems to lower the prices.   Economics 101.