On the Olimex cost, please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's 30 euro plus at least 8.50 euro to ship to the US, which works out to US$60 for that single 4"x6" panel.
I really hadn't wanted to post in this thread again, but I don't like to run away from my mistakes either.
You're absolutely right there. I haven't orderd from Olimex in ages (euros were practially american dollars back then).
There are a lot of places that do small runs now though. PCB-Pool is a direct competitor to batchPCB, but around $1.45/square inch + shipping. I've never used them and can't recommend them.
I don't think it sounded like a rant; don't forget, we can't really hear tone of voice and so forth online...
"Really?! Im not going to blow a hundred bucks on a whole batch of a single board that may or may not work and then have to go through the hassle of liquidating all the ones I dont use. Look, its your preference. "
Sounds a lot like a rant to me, but I suppose you can be right.
I'm not a fan of perfboard either. But if I've only got 10-20 components and just need a 1-off, it's a lot faster and easier than waiting for a PCB.