Not sure where you got $50 from. I said it would be AT LEAST $80-$100 for the Nitride but it isn't just the cost, it also changes the process of how we make them and that is much more time consuming because once the barrel has been Nitride finished that's it, you cannot modify it at all so it needs to be PERFECT.
As I mentioned, if we decide not to Nitride them but it is important to you personally then just take it off the gun and have it done yourself. Lots of people do this, just as some folks send parts for Cerakote.