Steve from The Filling Station here. Just my two cents worth......look around everywhere - not just this hobby, but everywhere prices are up - way up! We struggle every day to be competitive with our prices while keeping up quality. There are two schools of thought: Cheap prices or Buy American. We have carried Steele Rubber items for over 40 years - always happy with the quality but we have to balance that against the price for USA Made products. Another thing that continues to rise in price is the cost of freight. Last week UPS settled with their drivers on a new contract that pays them up to $170K per year. Where do you suppose that money will come from? - higher shipping costs.

Moderator Edit: I removed a political comment. The rules are no politics, no religion.