Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

Seen a lot of posts on Ebay for hoods pins and also seat pins... They seem to range into the $10 range plus. Can't understand though why any one of us would pay that kind of money for used parts? These parts are so easily made, mostly straight metal rods and obtained locally at your nearest Big Box Store at lower cost. Yes some need you to drill a hole, others might need a bend but come on guys we don't need to pay premium prices for that!
The hinge pin for instance just need to select the material (I always use stainless) cut to length and drill a hole. The seat pin just need to be cut to length and bend. Whats difficult here?
The point I am making is that the part you can make cheaper is actually better than the original!
I hope you guys know that when we push back and create our own that eventually the parts that matter will sell at a reasonable price too.

I will make my owns parts quite often .Sometimes it is availability, to improve design , to change to suit my needs , and $$$ is always in the equations .