Normandy,

In the States & I'm certain in the rest of the world it is not unusual to see the street prices of parts offered by authorized dealers to the end user at varing degrees of mark up above list prices established by the OEM (forklift, automotive & others). This has been going on for 41 years that I am aware. However, the % of mark up has grown significantly - used to be 10-15% mark up very common (to cover ship & handling costs), in recent years some "short term motivated" dealers mark-up up to 100%. The % of mark up on parts generally increases during "tough" times to "help" make-up for lower business levels in rentals, used & service. With the internet this is very risky as customers "shop" parts $ too. The OEM will have one list price for each market.

It is true that "propiterary" parts through teh OEM tend to be very, very high until a aftermarket parts company finds a way to market a similar or same part at a different price - that's what the free market is all about.