There is nothing wrong with alloy bars, stem and seat post. They are not necessarily a budget option at all.
I would agree that bikes do seem to be more expensive though.
Not sure if it is because disc brakes cost more to produce, or they have bumped up the margins somewhere.
Also less discounting doesn't help either.
Basically seems like you are about 1 tier down for the same money as a few years ago.
i.e, what would of got you Ultegra now gets you 105.