That's $50 each cover. After I get my head above water with these things and get through this initial wave, I will certainly be looking for ways to streamline production and reduce cost so it's very possible the price will come down in the future. But right now with the number of people who desperately want them as soon as possible, I'm focusing on finishing the designs and getting them tested and out the door as fast as I can. The priority is getting them in the hands of those who need them right away.
The same goes for different colored buttons, etc. When I have more time I do plan to have more options available (including a LH button for lefties) or other custom features if people don't mind paying for them. But that's going to take a back seat to the above.
As for the utility of the button, I find it really does make a difference when speed is needed. Simple tabs on the objective work well as you can push with the thumb of your support hand very quickly and easily (that's the direction the hand is going anyway). You can use a lot of force and it takes virtually no time.
Doing the same on the ocular isn't so easy. This would require pulling backward toward your face with a forefinger. Nothing is more annoying than caps that open by themselves so these are pretty tight so it takes a decent amount of force to open them. That's much easier to do with your thumb pushing away than a finger pulling toward your face. And whichever hand you use, it's really supposed to be going somewhere else so in addition to being awkward, it's all added movement that takes more time you may not have for a quick shot. In a casual situation it wouldn't be a big deal but in a high pressure situation when you need to shoot quickly, you want to make things as easy as possible on yourself.
Anyway, that's why I stayed with the button concept. I really do feel it works well. Of course like I said, if somebody wants a custom job with no button I could entertain such requests in the future. But for now, what you see is what you get.