Because ARs always cost a certain amount of money per brand/build and that was that.
Then came the 94 AWB and that screwed prices up and eventually sunset, but prices were still a little inflated over what they were prior to the Clinton ban.
Then comes modern times and more and more manufacturers are getting into the AR market. This all drives the price down.
Then comes the fear of Obama or Hillary (along with a ton of ignorance being spewed on the radio, etc... by places like Dong's purely for their own profit) and panic sets in because of the knowledge of the 94 AWB. This drives prices up a little more but this is an artificial inflation of the market.
Then comes Nov 4th and overnight several gun-shops hiked prices by as much as $100 each on guns (including some of our sponsors that are now on my ban list) and more panic. This wasn't done out of fear for the most part, but purely for profit off of a public scare of a Clinton-like candidate in office. Still more artificial inflation.
Then because of the panic, more and more new gun folks are getting in to the market and buying "Assault weapons" because they are afraid of not being able to get one later. This creates a HUGE consumer base for the newly inflated market.
Then low and behold, we have a ton of new douche-bag sellers who are buying up everything they can and hiking prices on it to make money off of fellow-gun people. This drives even more artificial inflation (and as a side note, causes as much damage to the gun community as any anti-gun liberal ever has in my opinion).
Now with all the new-guys to guns and the flood of douche-bags selling, you have people desperate to get an AR (for quite honestly irrational reasons and buying into the media hype) and these folks are now paying super-inflated prices for crappier weapons like Double-Star ARs, etc... (I've seen them as high as $1300 at a gun show).
Now comes the ammo shortage and that makes the AR scare last even longer than it should have because by this point, a noticeable percentage of the population (mostly voters), have bought guns (based just on NICS check reports) and have scared anti-gun politicians who are now noticing that these gun-buyers are voters and probably don't dig all the anti-gun legislation - and wait a minute, several of these anti-gun folks are coming up for re-election soon.
Finally - these new-to-gun folks are getting educated as to the prison-raping they just took on their new rifle and several of the douche-bag gougers are realizing that they may have gotten into the market too late as they actually paid slightly inflated prices and are trying to make a profit - but there are no more gullible new-to-gun folks out there and the old gun-guys are now pissed off at the gougers for turning on the gun community like they did.
Guns sit on shelves and don't sell - prices fall. Good - I hope some of these gougers get their houses/cars repo'd.
Meanwhile - a lot of the individuals who bought ARs either to get one before a second AWB, or to make money off of did so with credit cards and are now feeling the pain of that payment and have decided that maybe that purchase wasn't the best-timed purchase after all.
Just you wait - prices will be well below retail soon enough.
Excellent analysis.