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OK, that's probably not completely fair. Certainly the frames are adequate, but they're not anything stellar. Don't fall into the trap of beleiving that all frames (of a given material) are identical in fit, weight, and ride quality. There tends to be good value in the main components, but often the items that get less attention are lower spec. There's not anything inherently wrong with that - the mainline manufacturers do it too on many models.
Mostly, it's just a tight-margin business model with a few layers of distribution costs (and subsequent profits) shaved out of the channel. You don't have to pay for the shop to help you with selection or fitting, the wrench to assemble and tune the thing, the distributor to provide warranty claims processing, and so on... But you also don't get the benefits that those provide to a regular retail setting. You get to make the call on the importance of those items.
