I always get a hearty chuckle out of these threads. This will be my 16th consecutive National; all as a dealer. I think I can count on the thumbs of one hand the number of colleagues who said they were disappointed in their sales. So despite those "exorbitantly high prices", dealers have sufficient sales to make their time, effort and expense worth it.
I think there's an important distinction being overlooked here. If you're looking for a 1965 Mantle in PSA 7 or better, you'll find several dozen to choose from in Chicago. It's not a rare card. By all means ridicule the dealer whose price is double that of the dealer two rows over and won't negotiate. If you're considering a G&B, Old Judge cabinet, E107 HOFer, E271
, T214, etc... and are using ten year old VCP data, then you're sure to be disappointed and may be inclined to bemoan those money-grubbing dealers asking such ridiculous prices. Rare cards can't simply be replaced in the next big auction. Be prepared to pay a premium for them.