TBH I genuinely thought that TR was going to be cheaper at launch. I had the 16 core at £750, basically the cost of two 1700s about then. I know that there are a lot more materials in it (two extra CPUs for example) but yeah, I really thought it would drop at twice the price of the 8 core.
Maybe this is how AMD planned it. Release it high, then they have wiggle room to reel people in. All of the Ryzen prices have dropped also, not just TR.
And yeah, WC is spot on. Lisa Su said that because of the way Keller had designed Ryzen not only would they get fantastic yields but they would also be "cheap".