Think of it this way, the only reason 40 series and above are priced like they are is because they saw how willing people were to pay dueing 30 series scalper days. This over representation by the rich is training other customers that nvidia gpus are worth that much so when they increase it again people won't feel offended.
Is AMD doing the same? From another post in this thread:
> Nowadays, $650 might get you a mid-range RX 9070 XT if you miraculously find one near MSRP.
If yes then it's industry wide phenomena.
Did you just casually forget about the AI craze we are in the midst of? Nvidia still selling GPUs for gamers at all is a surprise to be honest.