Indeed some bamboos are reasonably common, but others are not. The cost of importing a new bamboo into a country can run into $1K-$2K! In order for people to be able to do this, they have to sell the initial bamboos at a reasonable price. There is a good reason for these quarantine inpections and this import process in that it helps prevent pests being imported as well. I guess we've made a bit of a mess with the bamboo mites! Combine this with the cost of perhaps trying to merely locate a Phyllostachys Nigra 'Mejiro' (Black with green sulcus), and you get an idea of where the costs come from. You try and locate one of these. I've found 1 set of pictures and that's it! The fact that you have access to the variety that you do is thanks to collectors being prepared to pay these amounts in order to make them available, and you and others should be grateful for this.

In addition, some bamboos are slow growing and very difficult to propagate. Phyllostachys bambusoides 'Marliacea' springs to mind! I have one plant that I have managed to be split once in 5 years. Splitting it made it revert to Juvenile As a result, I'll not be splitting it again in the near future.

Now consider many other plants that bear seeds. You can grow 10s, if not 1000s of new plants from the seeds per year....rather than the occassional split every other year. As a result you can charge significantly less, and still make a profit.

Finally, you'd like to just go and chop a bit off another bamboo somewhere. All I can say is have fun! Having done it myself, I can tell you that on a mature plant it is very hard work. You have to nurse the plant carefully for the first year, and 2 out of the 4 that I took died! Add on the cost to you of locating the bamboo that you are after, travel there and back, and the time and effort required to take your cutting, and then nurse it for the first year. Now compare that to going and picking up a pot containing a plant which has been nutured and is healthy that you can plant straight away without worrying, and you can see why $80 for a bamboo is not unusual. Of course, you time may be worth less than $10 an hour?

OK, I acept that there are the odd 'exceptions'. Some of the more agressive bamboos - Sasa for example are a lot cheaper. These agressive bamboos tend to be more common, and as a result can be found moer cheaply than the prices that you've quoted.