Ok Monkeys, I have a query I am hoping those of you who work in shops (or know the pricing indexes well) can help me establish an answer for. Today, I went into my LBS to get the pricing on a Thomson Elite Dropper Post (found online for $350-$450). The owner and I go way back, so he likes to help out with deals when he can. He called up QBP to check availability and get a price quote. Less to the point but interesting, they first told him he would need to be vetted by Thomson first in order to actually purchase the part (much like Chris King)! Never heard of that happening before (though it's new apparently?). To the point: after the phone call, he relayed to me that his MSRP on the post was ~$600...which was a huge surprise to me. I showed him the pricing online, and he was even more shocked by that, bc apparently his cost on the post is $330. So, help me understand this Monkeys, are the online retailers gouging to just push product, or was QBP mistaken about the MSRP/MAP pricing of the posts?