Is it just me

[ScubaSteve]

Yes, I agree with you here but there is more to this (I'm neutral stance in this area, BTW).

First of all it's the whole mentality of a niche product for a niche market and we're gonna charge you through the nose (not necessarily the retailers but the manufacturers/distributors as well). Plus they know you have the money (because you're already spending it) and they know you are going to buy it (let's face it, this hobby is more addicting than heroin... which actually might be the cheaper option) so they can more or less charge what they want.

Granted they do have to make a profit and in higher risk ventures (I wouldn't exactly call aquarium supplies a low risk business) you charge more for taking the bigger risk. Plus, people have to make a living at this or we wouldn't have any of this. I know how this works; I own a tech business myself and I have to design, build, sell and price things accordingly.

However... there is a point where things start to get ridiculous.

For some items I can understand all this but for some... I want to smack people (the buyers) upside the head for being too lazy to put something together on their own or drooling over the next little tweak in the newest version of whatever like it's the new iPhone and walking in there with their wallets out (it's kinda like watching a junkie get their next fix...).

If you want an elegant solution or product, you are going to be paying more for it until it reaches some sort of critical mass (which is likely hard to achieve in this industry) or the manufacturers go for a more cost effective design (for example, the containers that sparked this whole debate... they're pretty, elegant, effective but that is not the most cost effective design). However, if you desire the elegant solution over a DIY unit, then you have to be prepared to pay for it.

If you (as in a general "you"... not you specifically) don't like the prices, learn to make these things yourself (which can often be the more expensive route if you need to buy the tools and such). If you don't know how to design and build things, ask around here. Heck, I'll gladly post tutorials on how to design and build certain items if people are interested (most aquarium parts are just miniaturized versions of equipment from my industry).

The high prices suck and I agree they are ridiculous but I can guarantee you that there aren't many aquarium retailers or manufacturers ripping around their own tropical island in a Ferrari .