went ahead and asked for a quote for 5 pcs prototyping run, just to gauge an idea what each PCB is going to cost roughly. Then i get a bill of materials together, price of RAM from trag, and then assembly/test labor which at that point I can get a per piece price. 

I make a poll to see whos interested in buying, so then I can justify the cost of running the boards. 

of course, the PCBs might be cheaper if I order a larger number of them, or if I actually panelized the layout, but eh.. thats alot of work.