not sure if s1 was priced low. it was going for $2-3k initially. hell it was over 3btc when value was 1K. i agree, s3 has a sleek design, more thought into this miner. it looks finished, unlike the s1 which looked like a prototype. BFL did have an awesome design too, i think all their engineering went into aesthetics, the internals were blowing up all over the place, poor soldering, poor components placements (components and metal touch each other).
cloud mining looks to be the natural transition for the small-time miners (such as myself).
I never bought any Bitmain products prior to my S3 and I was so enraged over BFL's handling of the Singles that I decided to sit out of the race. Several people have reported that their S1s were able to BTC ROI. Even if they cost $3k back then which would be 3BTC, if they mined 4BTC you still came out ahead. Very few ASICs actually has positive BTC ROI.