Wasn't there a huge upcharge in the installation cost of the stained grade pine?

The upcharge for pine did not seem unreasonable. The upcharge for cypress was more than twice that of pine.

I don't know where you live, but here in the Dallas area there are a few dealers that deal in specialty woods. If you can find such a dealer in your area, price cypress.

Its all in the grade of wood. Knotty pine has to be the cheapest. Cypress has got to be at least double the price.

I agree with the above post. Knotty pine will cost about 1/2 as much as cypress,cedar, oak, etc..

If you want to see really high prices, look at hardwoods.

Poplar trim is high but reasonable, until you remember it is for painting.

Oak gets painful quickly in any piece more than a 1-2 inches wide.
Clear hardwoods in pieces more than a few feet long are snapped up by the furniture factories, leaving nothing but short pieces for molding manufacture.