... If it's so easy to make money in this industry ...
Nobody said it was "easy". Just look at the landscape of current toy train importers today, and then look at who's encountered major issues getting stuff manufactured in the past five years. Some have lost their primary factory and needed to regroup accordingly (i.e., MTH and Atlas). Others have encountered issues with suppliers of raw materials (i.e., resulting in Lionel's decision to transition away from aluminum passenger cars). All have probably seen the cost of labor escalate (i.e., 3rd Rail has alluded to using Philippine factories beside Chinese factories to produce certain items). And which importers have product produced in Korea anymore? Nobody is immune from overseas manufacturing issues and increased labor costs. 
So while "overcharging" may not be the accurate word, consumers would be hard-pressed to conclude their dollar buys a whole lot less today.
What's interesting about high MSRP's though is that few dealers -- if any -- seem to be selling product at that level. And an increasing number of dealers have more discount-sales quite "regularly" over the past few years. So that should indicate something right there. 
BTO, on the other hand, is an attempt to create an illusion that buyers should part with their money sooner at higher price points to ensure availability of product. It's a tricky balancing act.
David
