Why is the price of new tonearms so high

I sincerely think, that todays prices for the top-flight tonearms aren't so bad. I was browsing through the price lists of the early 1980ies and we had several tonearms back then who demanded a very serious price tag too.
In adjusted buying power we were looking at several (4-6) tonearms in the price range of todays US$8k to 12k.
Serious - it isn't much worse today.
So it hasn't really changed - we had the same game 25 years back.
Cheers,
D.

Dear Daniel: +++++ " by the way Raul.... how about Syntax's question some posts back whether you can give some input on modern tonearms.... "

do you think that we start our self tonearm design because we are satisfied with the vintage and today tonearms?, please grow-up the answers are in front of you.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Raul, sorry - I can see little to no answers in your system set-up. Owning and mounting dozens of mostly vintage tonearms and cartridges doesn't imply answers.
It looks rather like collecting for the joy of it.
Which is perfectly fine.

I do not think that any toenarm designer starts the project on designing a new contender for the state of the art because he is "not satisfied" with the current available.
This particular phrase is used by most, but in the end it is always the same (to quote the Rolling Stones...): we're only in it for the money.......
Which is perfectly fine too.

Cheers,
D.

Dear Axel, ..."The man has the best tonearm, best woman, best system, best ears, best education, best audio knowledge, best superlatives... well."
Well - the tonearm/cartridge combination which gives the best result so far - yes.
Best woman - in my eyes and regarding all significant parameters - yes, of course (as it should be with every happy married man).
Best system - maybe.
Best ears - a full pair of useable ones, with a lot of training.
Best education - a good one.
Best audio knowledge - well, enough.
Best superlatives - no - you and your buddy in middle-america outdo me in this regard.

After we have settled this now - any chance you might come back to this thread with some true input other than euclid geometry and Lurne's concept (which he didn't discover nor were the first one to bring it to audio...) of matching inertia and gravity center and worshipping my taste, audio knowledge and education?
While I am certainly enjoying this it is a bit boring for the others and does not bring any useable input to the topic.

But maybe this thread has already reached its end, as the inital question has long been answered.

Is my impression wrong?
Cheers,
D.

>>(to quote the Rolling Stones...): we're only in it for the money.......<<

Wrong band.

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
1968