Odd...I recall paying $150 for mine, but that was about 5 years ago now. Bought them from Top Speed (an ebay brand). No idea why they would be so pricey now as they really have no reason to be.
Thought about doing the crios mod myself but wasn't crazy about the fact that it's not reversible, not to mention its much more time consuming to replace the muffler than the midpipes if you don't like the sound. Lots of people seem to be happy with the crios mod, however. If I were to do it, I would start with small holes and go from there.
This is my 04, stock exhaust except for the bypass pipes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BDSL28XgZI