Reddit mentions of Steins;Gate: Complete Series, Part One (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

That's just how it is. Believe it or not, Funimation's prices are actually pretty decent. Sentai is similarly priced.

If you really want to shit your pants, go look at Aniplex USA or Ponycan USA releases. Kill La Kill BD Volume 1. Release date: July 15, 2014. Episodes 1-4. ONE THROUGH FUCKING FOUR. $40.00 USD. "Oh that's just the MSRP direct from the walletfuckers, it'll be cheaper from other retailers." Nope and [Amazon link unavailable because Amazon doesn't even carry it].

You paid $30 for Steins;Gate because you bought it when they released the whole thing branded as an anime classic. I know this, because that's when I bought it. That was a rerelease. The original was offered as two split cours that came out a few months apart and each had prices higher than the classic bundle.

This is what Funimation and Sentai do, with few exceptions:

1. Series will release in 12-13 episode "chunks" (what typically constitutes a season, or what we refer to as a "cour") at about a $60.00 MSRP but then after discounts, promotions, and retailer price adjustments, it drops down to the $40-46 range. Fun fact: Even most publishers rarely charge their full MSRP directly from their own store, because it's a customer-baiting mechanic to list a higher price and then make it look like you're offering a discount, even if that discount is permanent.
   
2. Then, once the initial sell-through dies off, if the series was popular enough (or not) it will get heavily discounted in a variety of ways depending on the publisher. Funimation has two different tactics, one of them is the "Anime Classics" label, like that above-linked Steins;Gate or the Spice & Wolf pack. The other option is the "Super Amazing Value Edition" which is a rerelease covered in god-awful "SAVE" branding and, typically, a $20.00 or less price point. Robotics;Notes initially had two separate cour releases, then a SAVE version came out literally years later. Thankfully, all of the SAVE editions have reversible case covers, so you can at least hide that ugly green-striped packaging.
   
   Sentai doesn't really do rereleases, instead they just regularly (but only temporarily) slash the prices of a lot of their old stock. They have a decent sale going on now, but a few months back they had drastically cut down the prices on a lot of their content, with some subtitle-only releases going for $15 per season (on BD!) and dubbed releases for $18.

Actually I just bought part 2 on amazon for just under $40. I check back three days later and they've both dropped to under $30 each for the bluray/dvd combo. At least that's the cheapest I've found them for.

Source

What's the difference between the above product and this, aside from the latter being part 1 of a collection and would end up costing double the price to get all the episodes? Is there extra content or something?

Yeah, this is quite standard. Most anime will come out in parts in its first release. Then you'll have a complete series edition probably in a few years. Then an anime classic or save edition.

Look at how Steins;Gate originally released here. Exactly same as we have with Hyouka.

https://www.amazon.ca/Steins-Gate-Complete-Part-Blu-ray/dp/B00BZC029G/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1499203772&sr=8-5&keywords=steins+gate+blu+ray

https://www.amazon.ca/Steins-Gate-Complete-Part-Blu-ray/dp/B009B82FCS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1499203772&sr=8-3&keywords=steins+gate+blu+ray

funimation always has good quality but its very expensive lol

http://www.amazon.ca/Steins-Gate-Complete-Part-Blu-ray/dp/B00BZC029G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383169703&sr=8-1&keywords=steins+gate