Much of it depends on where the retailer gets their stock from. If they are buying them from a wholesaler, they can usually get a better price... but not always. I deal with that every day in the field I'm in... very often it's cheaper to go to HomeDumbo, et al, to buy material than it is to buy it from my wholesaler. If the retailer is buying their stock online, or from another retailer or psudo-retailer, they may be paying nearly retail for product. Further... even wholesaler's prices jump around based on stock and availability. Since 2020, and the WuhanFlu nonsense, any sort of regularity in supply and pricing has gone completely out the window, in almost any category you wish to look. It's a fact.
Thankfully, this is still America, and as a consumer you have the ultimate say in whether someone's prices are good or not. $170 bricks of primers don't bother me at all... I just don't buy them.