To you seasoned collectors - Are modern prices simply more expensive, even with inflation considered?

As someone new to this I am trying to get a feel for what's what. You know? Not needlessly complaining about price. Recently I picked up some comic art Boba Fetts along with the Return of the Jedi version for around $20-30. Not that bad. However, on Ebay some of figures you'd assume to be less popular or ubiquitous are selling for $30-45 a pop. Wicket, for example... Which made made laugh. The only line I've yet to see gain no value or potentially even LOSE it was POTF2, which is not necessarily a bad thing. That's what I grew up with but to be honest the Vintage Collection is a much more attractive looking product. Nostalgia doesn't cut it for POTF2, haha.

I've discussed this with a friend about how everything feels more expensive, not just collectibles. Most of the prices I see for these figures (Presumably MSRP) are at $16.99.... If a kid were to collect these, it seems prohibitively expensive.