You CANNOT compare prices in the 70's or 80's to prices now, there is a thing called INFLATION and it makes your currency purchase less and less. Know why a candy bar used to cost 5cents but now costs $1, it aint becasue its harder to make or the materials are harder to get, or the people have to work harder to make them. Nope, the only reason the price goes up is because they keep printing more and more currency making all the currency you own purchase less and less. ANYONE who says they study economics and then states that prices 40 years ago were less than they are now and do not understand why, are simpletons who don't pay attention in class.
Sellers will charge the MAXIMUM that people will pay, almost always. The only time a business does not is when they are looking to increase exposure to a market or are having a special sale to promote a product in the hopes it will stimulate more sales.
Listen, I could state in very measured and roundabout ways exactly how you are wrong, but my dad and his friends are decent sources of information so it's not really necessary. Aw, fuck it, I'll put it in a way that you're very proud self can understand:
My dad would have started REALLY growing when he was about 25, but was still consistently buying, and at that time (in 1970), a US dollar was equivalent in its buying power to c. $5.75 today. My dad would pay five bucks for a lid, or ROUGHLY 3/4 oz. of Thai stick, incredible compacted weed with a less stems and seeds than most people think (back then they rolled up everything, so obviously no MAJOR ruffage, right?). So my dad essentially paid $28.50 for 3/4 oz of NICE, NICE fuckin weed, reputedly some of the best ever smoked in the USA. And you're trying to claim $20 a gram (about 14 times my dad's prices, inflation CONSIDERED, ceteris paribum) is justified? You can take in any number of variables you like, and that still don't make a lick of damn sense.
Despite your attempts to play me down as a know-it-all, clearly you don't know much about dealing, or you would also realize that dealers do NOT always charge "the most they can". The less you charge for your weed, the more word gets around and the faster it will go. You also DRASTICALLY reduce the chances of getting jacked, because no one likes to jack a fair dealer (okay, some people, but not many). An urban grower tends to get rid of their shit at very nice prices to get it gone, and often low-balling dealers control streets very effectively--- I was one of them. This is a very basic part of economics, it's referred to as the equilibrium pricet. Lowering prices will send the equilibrium price down, because the market is limited and diverse, and if you can continue to supply effectively then you will put your competitors out of business (demand for substitutes will drop), and your demand will grow exponentially to the point where you can offer ridiculously low prices. Basically a snowball effect, very simple.
So anyone who charges you $20 a g is generally ripping you off. I stand by my "smack a nigga" statement.
And a chocolate bar was not worth so little because of inflation... it was worth that little because the market was understated, and more local than it is today. You saying that makes me want to SMACK a nigga.
Thank you.
lol i aint payin no 20 a gram in new york
Yeah I've worked in New York and seen way better prices, $120 a sack for some half-decent mids, but it depends on your people. The artist community in Jersey City is QUICK to pay $600 a sack for some nice snack.