but it's disappointing to see such gouging.
The trouble is, one man's "gouging" is another man's "Free Market!"
Where do you draw the line? IF you do draw a line??
Where I live, it is hard to imagine paying for used handgun brass. All one has to do is gather it at our local range in the early morning. There is abundance, just sort out undesirables.
Which is a fine thing, though of course, it does limit you to those calibers people leave behind, and what happens when no one is going to the range to leave that brass for you to find???
I happen to have several uncommon calibers (rifle and pistol) that you won't find as range pick up.
IF there is no change to the supply and the supply costs, then I'd say jacking the price up, SO THAT the entire increase is pure profit, would be gouging.
But if there is a change (and unless you're competing in the same business you probably won't know what the change(s) are, or how much they affect his operating costs) so just deciding you're being gouged by a price increase is a bit arbitrary, at the least.
Supply and demand Capitalism is not a "fair" system, but it is, if left alone, a self correcting system. Some folks think wage and price control is a "fair system". The problem with that (and other socialist ideas) is that no matter what is claimed, "some animals are more equal than others".