The Sales Tactic Known as PRICE CONDITIONING

Step 1. Place a shockingly overinflated price on something

Step 2. Wait out the initial phase of buyers freaking out over being ripped off; eventually they shut up and get used to it

Step 3. Lower the price somewhat, but to a level still well above what it was before

Step 4. Consumers have been price conditioned to think the new price feels "way lower than it WAS!" They develop a sort of Stockholm syndrome for the price gougers and lovingly appreciate them for lowering the price to only several times what it should be.

So now, you have gasoline that, in reality, with the immeasurably vast supplies of oil in existence, should be around a buck a gallon...jacked up to four and five bucks or more, for years...so now "Three bucks seems like a huge BARGAIN, Ethel!"

Nope.