Probably for a similar reason that high-end cd changers are rare and many preamps are made w/out remotes. I wouldn't pay extra for a lift. I don't have a remote.
Why Not Semi-Automatic Style Turntables?
It strikes me as odd that there are few (if any) high-end turntables that lift the stylus (tonearm) off the record at the end of play. Is this really that hard to do without compromising performance? It seems to me that some sort of infered sensor could determine when the tone arm has wandered far towards center, and a mechanically decoupled bar lift the tonearm off the record. Is something like this out there, and if not why? Is it really impossible to do this without compromising performance, or are turntable designers stuck with their own blinders?