Hi there! The price of e bikes is getting higher these days because of the improvements in technology. There is the second reason of profit margin, each company is searching now to have it as high as possible no matter the quality of the product; here I have to agree with you. However, it's still an interesting way to get into e biking and that's by a DIY project. There are plenty of kits on the internet and getting them on a cheap mtb (with hydraulic brakes I recommend) will result you in around 1000 euros for a more than decent setup.