I read many many posts on European train passes and point to point tickets.

I was told by some of my East European friends here in the US that the train prices on the rail websites that commonly come up in threads on this website (say the DB website, http://www.railsaver… and others ) are way too expensive.

I read posts saying there is probably a fee added by these websites but still..

They think a rail ticket from Frankfurt to Munich say, should cost only $15 or so!! But even railsaver thinks it should be $40.

Is this some European consipracy to make Americans buy very costly tickets or are my E.European friends just confusing cheap low E.European and S.European rail fares with German fares?

I basically need to do a Frankfurt -> Berlin -> Amsterdam -> Frankfurt trip. Can someone tell me how much it should cost with point to point tickets?

The railsaver.com website estimates $57 + $78 + $50 = $185 and so recommends a German pass instead (+tickets in the Netherlands).

Do I trust that? Or should I just go to Europe and expect to make that train journey
for under $100 with point to point tickets bought at the counter?

Any help would be much appreciated!