You sound like a nice person, but here's my take.
The pricing of $999 regular price to $499 regular price (now on sale for $197) makes me think that either the product was purposely overpriced (which is a tactic I don't like), or not selling very well (it makes me question the quality)...
I personally wouldn't have pushed this. As a guy that's not into filmmaking beyond "how's it done", it appears that Networking is a critical component. The people under your direction now, might be calling the shots in your future. Best of Luck~