I keep searching for the ideal shoe. It doesn't exist for me. I spent more on shoes last year than I should have. My budget this year $0. I don't care if they come wrapped in my favorite food (seaweed, rice and something that smells like VFF's) any guesses, and comes with a six pack of Northwest Pale Ale, I'm not buying them.
To contribute to the original question. So many factors go into determining the price for something. With the minimal shoes, I think the companies just started with a price similar to their regular shoes and discovered that people paid that price. Then discovered that people were buying more. Example - Vibram with so many different models available. So many now that you can't even keep up. I am glad that so many minshoes are coming out, competition will drive price down. I could go on and on, but I'll keep it short.
Good article.