It isn't just the end user who is put off by the still high prices of Blu-ray drives, particularly units destined for computers. The manufacturers themselves are apparently upset at pricing, despite the fact that manufacturers get considerable discounts for buying OEM equipment in large volume. Companies like HP, Dell, Acer, Asustek and others are asking for significant price reductions for large volume orders of Blu-ray drives.
The costs cited were as low as $95 for a vanilla drive or $120 for a hybrid drive, which, according to the manufacturers, is about the lowest they will go due to high manufacturing costs. This will not do anything to help the slow Blu-ray adoption. It's a conundrum in that people are hesitant to buy things they perceive as too expensive, whereas the manufacturers are hesitant to lower costs with mass manufacturing if nobody is buying them.