An Alarming Trend

I have noticed, through out the Internet and in magazines, there is an alarming trend going on!
Downloadable patterns that used to be the best way to buy a pattern, even the most complex ones were only around $8, now, for a simple pattern you could pay as much as $15! What happened. Dishcloths used to run around two dollars, now they are pushing five. It's not like I want a printed copy, you know, you buy the paper, you buy the ink, you print it out, package it, drive to the post office, pay to ship it. Then maybe I can see it. But $12 for a pattern that I can download and all you have to do is type it in and at the worst, email it to me!?!?
I know the work behind getting it ready for download, but you know what, a year ago, that work was worth $5 bucks, now it is more like twenty.
I know the rising price of gas has driven up a lot of things, things you wouldn't even think of, like simple box of salt we used to get for 5o cents, and now costs almost two dollars. Like it cost more to ship it with the thousands of other items jammed onto that truck headed to your local Wally World, but I digress. My whole point was...........WTH............ why are the price of patterns going up? Is the demand that big, so now we can charge twice as much as what we would have just a year ago.
I admit, I am a pattern pack rat, but if this trend keeps up, I am going to have to find comfort in the hundreds I have already.