I would like to offer a counterpoint to the argument.
While I do feel that there are companies that are listing their trees at (seemingly outrageously high) prices that are not in keeping with the going rate, I have a new appreciation for all of the labor time (and resulting cost) that is involved in successfully bringing a tree to market.
I’ve been taking cuttings of fig trees and potting them for propagation. I’ve come to recognize that while there was significant time involved in producing each batch of ~18, the process of checking them for sprouting, subsequent monitoring, and then watering them (only when appropriate) has added to it dramatically.
I’ve also repotted all of my fruit trees that I’ve ordered that have already arrived, as I do not wish to plant them into my soil until this fall. That was another eye-opening experience time-wise, which gave me a new appreciation for the time involved in their initial potting.
I make my own potting soil, and while the individual components are not expensive, there is a financial cost involved. I seriously doubt that any of the commercial operations are doing anything but ordering in their soil, and whomever is producing it for them needs to make a profit for their efforts.
Add to that the cost of the nursery labor for grafting/layering/whatever propagation method they utilize, overhead for the property that they operate on, and all of the numbers add up pretty quickly. That recognition has helped to tremendously soften the blow that my pocketbook felt.
This thread was instrumental in helping me to get off my tail end, bite the financial bullet and get my fruit trees on order, and I thank everyone who contributed to it.