You have a unique perspective that others on this forum do not have in regards to margins and profits but I think it's safe to say the majority of these dudes here would immediately cry ripoff if they found out exactly what kind of margin these cycling related companies were holding.

Without solid numbers and a business oriented perspective you shouldn't trash a company for making a profit. That kind of margin would be applauded in any other forum. What you call obscene markup is completely relative.

MAP policies and MSRP are to level the playing field in terms of dealers, not because they're afraid they will make too much money. That's why you'll often get inflated MSRP's while your cost remains the same.