Why do I have the feeling I'm getting ripped off?

I know that my second post for the road trip is wayyyyyy overdue, and I do promise to write it quite soon, but something happened to me today that I feel I must put down in words before I get over it tomorrow...
You see, last fall I splurged on some $80 headphones for my 90 year old ipod (and by 90 years I mean in Apple-years, to the rest of society it would be about four). I was very wary of the buy, seeing as I thought only DJs, you know, the ones who pump up the jams at clubs, were the ones who spent so much money on headphones.
Well, I guess I should've thanked Steve Jobs for offering me SUCH A STEAL! I didn't know it at the time, but 80 bucks is chump change compared to today's prices at apple.
This afternoon, after taking the dirty-30 home from work (don't ask, all I can say is "chinatown" "rush hour" and "odors from another dimension") I decided to pop into the Apple store just a few blocks down Chestnut from my apartment. I wanted to get new headphones because my "high quality" 80 dollar headphones that I was suckered into buying last fall had finally become somewhat defective. And by defective, I mean one side's volume is at an 11 while the other is at a 2. Anyway, I make my way into the store and, luckily, I'm only slightly accosted by two Apple "geniuses" (by the way, I highly doubt 10% of apple store employees are geniuses). After fighting them off with my iPhone (you must show them you belong), I get to the headphone section and, while staring at all the wondrous choices, another "genius" comes up to me, with the stupidest grin on his face, and asks if I could use his help. And trust me, I did want his help, and I wanted him to understand that I was replacing outrageously expensive headphones, ones that were supposed to last until nuclear winter. I started explaining my situation, saying how I got them there (meaning AT THE APPLE STORE) and it was about, ohhhh 6 months ago, and I was wondering if they had some similar headphones. Then, this "genius" with the idiot smirk on his face says "oh well we weren't even open six months ago soooo no, we would definitely not have those." Umm, did he just talk back to me? Did he just try and call me out? I kept my cool and explained that I got them at the downtown store, and that I know they probably didn't have the exact same kind so if he could suggest any others....
He does, and points to the "very popular" headphones that come in 210, 310 or 410. Mind you, he doesn't bother explaining what the hell the difference is between those silly numbers, so I say "ok thanks I'll take a look." Genius walks away (I was thinking of slugging him at that point) and I pick up the shure max 210 ultra whatevers and look at the price: $159.99. Um, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I put the super great popular headphones back and glanced at the prices of some other brands. $159.99, $179.99, $199.99... my jaw was hanging open at this point, so I slowly backed away from the headphone racks and casually made my way out.
Now, Apple products are not cheap, I know that. They are usually pricey and a lot of times people are very disappointed by them (ask anyone with the older nano version). But I have always been pretty damn loyal to Apple. I've even applied for a job at the Cupertino HQ, and I practically, nay, I DID steal the iPhone from my dad after he had it for only a couple of days. That being said, I'm loyal enough to usually be able to stomach the prices with the pride I feel in being an Apple consumer. Yet, as I walked back to my apartment, shocked by the actions of the moron "Genius", coupled with the ridiculous prices of the headphones, I began to wonder. "Is Apple trying to rip me off? Does Steve Jobs think that I'd go for it, just because I'm a loyal fan of Apple gadgets?" The funny thing is, the headphones weren't even Apple headphones, and Genius didn't have the brains to explain the benefits and bla bla bla.
So, I was kinda pissed. Plus, my iPod is probably worth about a third of $159.99 - if that. I figure, $159.99 for headphones better include the band running alongside me every time I work out. They better be singing their brains out while I'm stretching or doing some crunches. Those headphones better come with a live band, or else their sound quality isn't worth crap.