Oh man, I have some THOUGHTS and FEELS on this topic, but I'll try to be clear and concise, 'cause I could just rant about this all day.
Also, I didn't read the last 10 pages, so I'm just rudely inserting my opinions without context.
When I started Resonant Electronic Design with my best frenemy Wes Kuhnley, the pedal market was real weird (this was back in 2007). There were all the old-school brands (Boss/EHX/MXR/Ibanez, etc), and a handful of well-known boutique-y folks like Keeley, AnalogMan, Fulltone, Xotic, etc getting some attention, but most people barely even knew about those. Keep in mind in 2007, there few if any YouTube reviewers, and most music stores didn't carry "boutique" anything.
Wes and I had been working for Great River Electronics building high-end Pro Audio gear like preamps and EQs that cost over $1,000/channel, so when it came to design some guitar pedals, we decided to use really high quality parts (I think we were among the first companies to use Wima caps and 1% resistors in our pedals), make everything in the US, and charge whatever we had to charge. The Manifold Drive landed at $185 MAP. You wouldn't believe how much shit we got for that price. "A drive pedal for over $150? Why? The parts probably cost you $5!" (the parts (not including labor) cost us more like $45, but that's another story). But somehow, this was also the era of the Klon going for insane prices. Why? Was it built better? (no) Did it have more functionality? (no) Did it do something the Manifold couldn't do? (arguable, but I still say no). It was a cult of "mojo." At the time, people were seriously saying point-to-point pedals sounded better than PCB pedals. We struggled to move many pedals due to our pricing. Was it high? I don't think so, but compared to an $80 Boss pedal it was.
Cut to ten years later.
The most advanced and well-engineered pedals in the history of humanity are being released at a rapid-fire pace. I think everyone can agree that more features = more money, so I doubt those are the kinds of pedals you're talking about. Suffice it to say that for the advanced pedals, all they're doing is getting closer in functionality and price to the Pro-Audio tools that already cost thousands. If you want a simple/cheap pedal, buy a simple/cheap pedal.
It's the other kind that I think you're talking about - the kind that aren't much more advanced than stuff was 10+ years ago, but cost more simply because the market will take it. The exact same Manifold drive would feel like a good deal today for $185 because our financial compass has changed. Unfortunately, that also means that the Klons of today (or something like a well-known drive pedal with different diodes on a rotary switch offered up as a new idea) can be priced higher because the market will take it.
There's a solution though - don't buy dumb/shitty pedals. Pay for innovation and good engineering. Pay for functionality and cool new sounds. If you want a simple stand-by go buy a Boss pedal - they're just as good as they ever were. The market has to stop rewarding bullshit and instead reward the people making truly great stuff.
Ok, sorry, I went off a little.
LOL
