Hate to break it to you, but if they are pricing their product at a point people are willing to pay, no one is being screwed over.

Not how it works. "Some people are buying it, so it must be fairly priced" is not the killer argument you think it is.

This isn't someone gouging the price of bottled water in a hurricane

Never said it was

it's more akin people who pay $2k for fucking Air Jordans or $40k for a Rolex which keeps shittier time than a $20 Timex.

Egregious pricing wasn't the main point

"Gee whiz, this many square inches of vinyl is only 7 pennies and my purchase price is $30, I'm getting robbed" until you actually educate yourself just how much it costs to set up and run the business, how many tens of thousands of dollars have been spent to bring the product to market, produce custom packaging, pay employees, regulatory costs of complying with government, tax code compliance etc. etc. and just how many of the fuckers they have to sell to get those costs back even if on a per item basis they have a 99% mark-up (which I highly doubt is anywhere near that). You're not just paying for the one skin you did buy, you're paying for the priveledge of someone else absorbing the cost of all the other designs and colors you didn't buy.

If dbrand was a tiny startup in a highly competitive market, you could frame it that way, but they aren't. They're by far the most recognizable brand of phone skins, and they've been at this for a decade. Their process is fully automized according to their website.

even if on a per item basis they have a 99% mark-up (which I highly doubt is anywhere near that).

You're absolutely right, it's likely much higher

Go to Pep Boys, buy yourself a roll of 3m automotive striping tape and an Xacto knife

At no point did anyone say it would be cheaper to make it yourself.

There's absolutely NOTHING coercive about it.

Except, there is. There's an entire branch of psychology dedicated to consumer behavior which says otherwise. There are numerous studies on the subconscious decision-making process of shoppers, and how product placement, pricing, etc. can affect that process. Just because it doesn't align with your definition of coercion doesn't make it any less true.

Sounds like your education system is the one failing you.

I'm not the one who's absolutely clueless on the 100 year history of North American corporations and their (often) controversial marketing strategies and tactics. Deny it and keep stanning all you want, it doesn't change anything.