Hey CrawChuck,
It has something to do with the prices of petroleum based products going up.
My wife owns a tackle shop up here in Yarmouth,Nova Scotia Canada and her suppliers informed her of the price increases last October/November(2005).Now the suppliers claimed because of the devastation of Katrina and what it did to the petroleum industry is the reason for the hikes in raw materials to make these products.Makes some sense I guess,lol,lol.
As far as Yamamoto goes,well I'm a tournament angler and I wouldn't throw anything but these baits during the mid summer period.I can't catch a cold on them in the spring,but starting in July they really shine for me anyway They may be more pricey,but my confidence level is high when I have them tied on For a senko type bait,you can't beat the original.Yes knockoffs/copies do catch fish at times,but in my opinion not as consistantly as the originals.
Ken