Price increase on Ithaca 37 Defense Guns?

[Nickel Plated]

Was browsing around the web trying to decide what my next shotgun should be and remembered I really like Ithacas. I was looking to build a good, HD and SHTF shotgun so the Ithaca 37 Defense Gun looked interesting. Then I saw the price tag. The price itself doesn't bother me. I have long since decided that I'd rather spend the extra change for a few great guns, than buy a bunch of cheap junk.

What caught me off guard is the last time I looked at the Ithacas. The MSRP for the Defense models was somewhere in the $500-ish range. But now it's listed on Ithaca's site somewhere in the $900 range depending on the specific configuration.
Still the same Defense gun with the fixed barrel and Perma-Guard finish. How is it suddenly almost doubled in price?
I never cared for the fixed barrel on their new Defense models, but I was fine with it if the gun cost less than the standard featherweight. But now? I might as well just buy a brand new, pretty blued Featherweight with field barrel and an extra 18" removable barrel for it and have a more versatile gun for about the same price.

Anyone know what's up with the increase? I though it might have been a typo on Ithaca's site at first, but all the distributor sites and Cabella's also show the higher price on the Defense model.

 

[jaguarxk120]

In today's world it cost's more to make a all steel gun with no die cast parts or stampings.

No aluminum receivers like the wingbergs or the mosschesters.

 

[Nickel Plated]

That doesn't explain why the Featherlights are still the same price they have been for the last several years. The manufacturing for them is hardly any different from the Defense gun. Besides there's no way production costs would have increased so drastically as to almost double the price of the gun in little over a year.

After some reading it seems Ithaca has just recently started using the Perma-Guard finish on the Defense guns instead of the matte bluing they used to have. But that can't possibly account for a $400 increase in price.

 

[Dreaming100Straight]

An 8 shot is listed on GunBroker for $699 and a buddy bought a new women's pump for his wife 3 years ago for about $800. Is it possible that you have confused the street price with the MSRP?