I agree to a certain extent with you that to produce something it's good to know the demand, but I noted in a previous comment by Bill that he hadn't chased small amounts but might think again if it was a £1000.
With near 100 kits 'in preparation' and some never to be produced the £1000 Bill said "would make him think differently" is here, but the other way round as he holds it.
For clarity I have not ordered from BB and won't, I was going to make a deposit on a couple of kits but an email response made it clear that although deposits were able to be taken (and still are 15 months on) the item(s) in question were unlikely to ever be made.