LearningMan, Do you have any "big" planes? If not you may not realize just how much they can really end up costing. By the time you figure in all the small stuff like pilot, spinner, prop, tailwheel, hinges, etc.. you can really add up the dollars. It would be easy to accumulate 20 bucks in hinges alone, and 30 for a good tail wheel, and a spinner around 50-100. Now there's another 100+ bucks into one airplane. And you still don't have that 40-60 dollar prop yet!
The big planes don't nickel and dime you to death, they 10 and 20 dollar you to death!
I agree with Tom (smallfly) there are way too many items very overpriced in this hobby.
I understand suppy and demand, and I realize we in this hobby don't have much demand for porducts, but I still feel that some companies charge quite a bit for their products. Of course we keep buying them so I really can't blame them either!