I for one, LOVE the way Ryan prices his trees. The higher the better. He is benchmarking the prices for bonsai. Even better if he makes it know that they all sold at these prices. It means I can raise prices on my own trees, when I sell a tree.
As long as I am "cheaper than Ryan", my trees are viewed as a bargain.
In part I'm being sarcastic, I don't sell trees. I know my trees are not the same quality as Ryan's. But actually, Ryan's high prices are healthy for the commercial bonsai market. This helps out the guys like W. Valavanis, Jim Doyle, Meehans, Hidden Gardens near Chicago, WIgerts and all the other commercial bonsai nurseries. With Ryan benchmarking the high end, it gives space for everyone else to raise their prices. Most of these vendors I listed are not getting rich. Most of them are working on slim margins. So Ryan benchmarking new higher prices, is a good thing for the health of the whole industry.
Now as consumers we can resist. If you don't like the high prices, politely say no thank you and walk away. You don't have to buy a tree if you feel its overpriced.
Marketing is always the tension between pricing and whether the customer will make the purchase or not, supply and demand. And when the supply is a luxury item like a bonsai tree (luxury, in that one's life does not depend on having a bonsai) demand can drop off rapidly if the price is viewed as out of line.
Part of the value of a bonsai is the "perception of value", so it is valuable merely because the customer sees it as valuable. Ryan is raising the overall perception of bonsai values. A good thing for the anyone else who want to sell bonsai.
