Tubes becoming hard to get?

I just had to order some new 6550's for one of my amps.  I paid about $40 each in 2020.  Now they are $82 each.  And only a few sellers had any.

There are 3 major tube suppliers, one in russia (electro harmonix- now closed), one in slavic republic, (J+J) (still open) and one in China (still open).  There are couple small ones like Western Electric in the US (they build one or two hi fi tubes and that's it).  12 AX7s' in some form are important for audio in guitar amps, pro audio and more.   I expect tube costs will skyrocket and new designs using tubes will get put on the shelf. 

Demand for some of these tubes is so small that it's not enough to justify the product development costs much less a provide enough revenue to a business to run on..   The obscure tubes were being satisfied by NOS supplies, but now that is drying up.   

Its going to be a issue.

Brad

@immatthewj, mostly eBay, also Brent Jessee. I look for 12ax7s and 6l6cg most

y vintage. However, I just bought almost new 3, 12ax7eh electroharmonix for $40, just because they seemed like a great deal.  I’m always watching prices and really haven’t seen too many price increases or reduction in inventory. Maybe on new stock Chinese or Russian, but the inventory of vintage RCA black plates, telefunken ( just bought 4 red tips for $300) amperex ( bought 2 medical for $300) and what I’m interested in seems ok. Hope this helps. 

There still seem to be lots of NOS tubes around. And I imagine that other factories will ramp up out of necessity. I'm not sure if there's a need to raise prices if you're not buying them wholesale at a higher price. 

No. 
They’re just playing.