I recently came across two references to the costs of primers from years past and they helped me put current costs into perspective.
The first was from a book about buffalo hunters in the 1870s. There was a receipt of items purchased from Zimmermann's store in Dodge City dated October 1, 1874. Among the items purchased was 1500 primers for $5.25. That works out to be $3.50 per 1000. Using an inflation calculator, that equals about $85.33 in 2021 dollars. A factor in that cost may be the fact that Dodge City was on the frontier at that time and costs were likely higher there than the east coast.
The second reference I encountered was in a book by Townsend Whelen. It gave the approximate cost of primers in 1940 as being $3.80 per thousand. Adjusting for inflation, that works out to be about $75.44 in 2021 dollars. Prices in 1940 might have been high because of the prelude to war, but that's a guess on my part.
There are more factors besides inflation and I can't say how accurate the inflation calculator that I use is, but it helps put things into perspective for me. Maybe things aren't so bad right now; they could be worse. I do still long for the days of $20 (or less) cartons of primers...
Griff