I'm really not surprised by the price. Any time a manufacturer can't just pull something off the shelf and sell it to you, it's going to cost some money. It sounds like he may have to put together a wheel for you, kind of a custom one-off, and he probably wants to have one of your wheels to make sure he gets it to match exactly.
I'd be half tempted to do it. All in all, your investment would be 50+1480+200 (200 for a 4th tire) = $1730. Think about it. A NEW set of mid-range 18" wheels would be around $1000 (250 a wheel) + 4 18" tires at about $800 (200 a tire) = $1800. The awesome thing about those wheels is they're super unique, which IMO, is worth a few extra bucks.
I'd be half tempted to do it. All in all, your investment would be 50+1480+200 (200 for a 4th tire) = $1730. Think about it. A NEW set of mid-range 18" wheels would be around $1000 (250 a wheel) + 4 18" tires at about $800 (200 a tire) = $1800. The awesome thing about those wheels is they're super unique, which IMO, is worth a few extra bucks.