Exclusive Mishloach Manot?

This ad has been floating around, often with disapproving reactions.

I also don’t get it, and consider it misplaced priorities and conspicuous consumption. It is not just the quality of the items (which I’m sure is great), but the presentation / markup brings it to an even higher price. Still, it reminds me of this story from Megillah 7b:

רַבָּה שַׁדַּר לֵיהּ לְמָרֵי בַּר מָר בְּיַד אַבָּיֵי מְלֵא טַסְקָא דְקַשְׁבָּא וּמְלֵי כָּסָא קִמְחָא דַאֲבִשׁוּנָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבָּיֵי: הַשְׁתָּא אָמַר מָרִי: אִי חַקְלָאָה מַלְכָּא לֶיהֱוֵי — דִּיקּוּלָא מִצַּוְּארֵיהּ לָא נָחֵית.

Rabbah sent to Mari b. Mar by Abaye a sack full of dates and a cupful of roasted ears of grain. Abaye to him: Mari will now say, “If a countryman becomes a king, he does not take his basket off his neck.”

Rabba had ascended to be the head of Pumpedita, yet still sent such a limited gift to Mari bar Mar. (You can read all about Mari in Toledot Tannaim vaAmoraim.) How did Mari respond?

הֲדַר שַׁדַּר לֵיהּ אִיהוּ מְלֵא טַסְקָא דְזַנְגְּבִילָא וּמְלֵא כָּסָא דְּפִלְפְּלָתָא אֲרִיכָתָא. אֲמַר אַבָּיֵי: הַשְׁתָּא אָמַר מָר: אֲנָא שַׁדַּרִי לֵיהּ חוּלְיָא, וְאִיהוּ שַׁדַּר לִי חוּרְפָּא.

He sent back to him a sack full of ginger and a cup full of long-stalked pepper. Abaye said: Now the Master [Rabbah] will say, I sent him sweet and he sends me bitter.

אֲמַר אַבָּיֵי: כִּי נְפַקִי מִבֵּי מָר, הֲוָה שָׂבַעְנָא. כִּי מְטַאי לְהָתָם, קָרִיבוּ לִי שִׁיתִּין צָעֵי דְּשִׁיתִּין מִינֵי קְדֵירָה, וַאֲכַלִי בְּהוּ שִׁיתִּין פְּלוּגֵי. וּבִישּׁוּלָא בָּתְרָיְיתָא הֲווֹ קָרוּ לֵיהּ צְלִי קֵדָר, וּבְעַאי לְמִיכַּס צָעָא אַבָּתְרֵהּ.

Abaye said: When I went out of the Master’s [Rabbah’s] house, I was already full, but when I reached the other place they set before me sixty dishes of sixty different preparations, and I had sixty pieces from them. The last preparation was called pot-roast, and [I liked it so much that] I wanted to lick the dish after it.

אָמַר אַבָּיֵי, הַיְינוּ דְּאָמְרִי אִינָשֵׁי: כָּפֵין עַנְיָא וְלָא יָדַע. אִי נָמֵי: רַוְוחָא לִבְסִימָא שְׁכִיחַ.

Abaye said: This is what people say, The poor man is hungry and does not know it. Or the other saying, There is always room for sweet things.

I’m not presently living the Mari bar Mar lifestyle.