Not true at all - the Bear Vault starts at $60 and goes up to $80 for the larger model. Garcia, Counter Assault are in that same range, and the smaller Bare Boxer is only $40. (The Bearikade Carbon Fiber models are more in the range you noted - but that's the "Porsche" route when lots of approved Chevys are available.)

The Ursack is a good product but isn't allowed in a number of areas including Yosemite and SEKI, Lost Coast, Adirondack High Peaks, parts of the Cascades, etc. I'd consider it slightly less foolproof than the hard-sided containers, though I do recommend it for areas where it's allowed and the bears aren't habituated.

I give all of the canisters a big thumbs up over any hanging method. It's so much easier, and so much more foolproof, to toss everything into one at the end of a long day and rest easy. Yes, most of the products have been breached here and there, though I've heard from rangers that it's almost always due to user error or a worn canister that no longer locks correctly (common with Garcias rented out too many times without maintenance.) Compare that to hanging, where losses are common.

One slip-up and your food is gone, and you've contributed to the death of a bear in areas where they manage them once habituated. The most effective choice will be the one you're most likely to use and which doesn't take lots of fiddling.