During mid 70s -- just the MC6800P CPU alone cost over $300 each (nearly $350 if I remember correctly...damned old age). ROMs and PROMs were also very expensive but I don't remember how much. ROMs were very expensive due to having to pay a setup charge upfront. But once in production, they were cheaper per piece than PROMs.

The 6800s quickly dropped down to the $150 range and stayed there for awhile. The advent of MOS Technology's 6502 is what brought prices down radically. 6502s were introduced at something like $25 each. Most people ignored them at first thinking 'how can a CPU be priced so cheaply?". But they were quickly adopted and pulled the price of the other CPUs down. And the CPU price wars started.

I wish I could find my ACP (advance computer products) catalog from back in the day. It was a good reference. So might the back pages of Byte magazine from the early 80's. Even companies like Digikey and Jameco advertised back then.

Jameco was James Electronics back then. Blister packed components were called "Jim Packs".

Yup. Still have a few of them in my junk bin.
Does anybody remember Polypaks?

I still have some "Active Electronics" (I think they later became"Future Electronics") parts in the sealed single component bags. I'll have to see what the price on them was if I have any old receipts.

Great post OP and it's a question I've always wondered about.

I have a few nos james electronics parts here somewhere. Got a load of stuff from an estate sale of an ex ham radio guy.

I sure do. Wakefield MA IIRC. Loved those grab bags. I remember getting a hand-held caluulator shell for a buck when new ones (four function plus single memory) were still almost $100.00 It was status like certain shoes, clothes and smart phones are today for kids.

The other one was B & F Enterprises (Peabody, MA?). They were big on surplus assemblies. I got a Bunker-Ramo Telequote machine for $10.00 so I could play with the the tiny CRT (round, like the original teevees with a rectangle mask) circuitry.

And who could forget my favorite; Olson Electronics? Five stores in the Detroit area. Speakers, new for 49-99¢ apiece (in lots of 5).

Electronics in general is the one amazing product that always goes down in cost.
Once the research and development is recovered and a fair profit is made. The unit cost per year continually falls. My father and his brothers had a TV repair shop back in the tube days. Almost as soon as transistors hit the market they closed up shop. As they saw no need to. the transistors life far out lived the tubes and would be extremely cheap. So much so now almost disposable.
I do remember 6800 series high in the 100 $ area not like some guys. Those 125$ red LED calculators. Hell we were one of the first in the area to get a microwave oven. Of course it sat in the box for several weeks till my Dad could get a Geiger counter from work.
I remember Black Knight and GorGar with speech being a total mind blowing event.
My Father did keep doing home repairs and warranty work for Soundesign, Emerson, Phillco, Sharp and a bunch when I was very young. He even did Atari 2600 systems at the end of his repair days. Here is an IC from an Atari 2600 or 800 home computer. With price he paid for it at the time marked on it. He never did order anything in very large quantities though.
This would that be early 80's cost.
Not sure what the IC is to be honest.

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