[Markoff]

> and the (undoubtedly) dozens or hundreds of hours of work that goes into building a product.

Because other products just appear from thin air.

> So you can buy the lights and build it yourself, and spend your time writing code and debugging, or you can spend a bit more and buy a finished product.

Or you can buy half finished product advertised on HN for even more. I think I'd rather go with first two cheaper options (Aliexpress or Twinkly) than something in between which is the most expensive.