Plz educate me on the advantages of turbo "kits"
 

I apologize if this question is completely retarded, but I feel like most of these turbo kits I have seen are too expensive. I feel like it would be cheaper to just go to a reputable shop and have them piece together the various parts individually and then order and install them for you and it would end up being cheaper than paying 10k for a pre-made turbo kit + additional labor costs.

Am I way off base here? I don't know much about FI so I know I could be very wrong

The kits mean you're virtually guaranteed fitment of the part out of the box, and it will require very little modifications to your car. They're mass produced, so there is little need to tweak the kit to fit each car. Once the installation is complete, flash the ECU, and you're up and running in a few days than several weeks or months.

With one off builds, it's easy to acquire the hardware and bolt things in. If you read 98Intrigue's thread, there's more to just welding and routing pipes. One must take into consideration the pipe length, diameter, MAF location, etc. Trial and error and shotgun approach are headache inducing. If something breaks on the kit, you'll most likely be able to replace it without having to fabricate it again.

I think the turbos are the most expensive part of the kit. I had no idea they're nearly $1k each.

I would say no, a pre-made kit is going to be cheaper because the R&D is done and they produce so many they can cut cost for buying in bulk.
You might be able to buy all the raw materials cheaper, but piecing it together, fitment, tuning, etc. will end up running a lot more in the end.