Agreed, I have a few of their molds and never had any issues. They are literally 2-3 miles form my house. I've driven by, but never stopped :-)
Why would you pass on the lam plate? I was thinking all three myself but the price is quite high! The reason BTs was so compelling was their slide bar mold is I believe 149 and a lami plate would be well under the price of just the mold from bass tackle. Hate being that guy but the molds are so similar...
I know a few people have been getting orders, I emailed them probably a month or so ago and they said they were taking orders... They were local to me too but I'm not sure if they ever moved their shop.