I have both progressive and single station MEC reloaders in 12 ga. Started with the single stage first, then upgraded to the progressive as my son has started shooting more practice and competition rounds. I can reload 3-4 times as many shells with the progressive loader as I can with the single stage. The most expensive part of reloading is not the powder, primers, shot or wads. It's your time. Think of your time in terms of a certain $'s per minute. I'd say a single station will cost (in terms of labor) the same as factory loads when it's all said and done.
Good luck.
