Boy, I am with Dave. The price of strips has floored me too. But I do have a fully equipped wood working shop so I am set up to easily make strips. But it also looks like a boring tedious task. I like things more challenging in wood. But I am going to make my own strips. Going to skip the bead and cove. I will just plane the edge of mine.
But depending on your time and as others said, your tools. It might be better to buy if you can stand the cost. It would save you time.