I’ve never been in the fishing industry but I have experience in other industries and would say it’s about 10 percent of what we pay, with 30 percent being manufacturers profit, about 30 percent retailers profit, and 30’ percent advertising With the exception of certain manufacturers who think 15 bucks ain’t too much for a jerk bait and 35 bucks and too much for a pop r that’s yellow! I know this post breaks the first commandment of the sporting world, “don’t criticize the manufacturers or the pro’s” but I’m for the working man and oppose predatory industry practices!
No reply is necessary, just my opinion not trolling so don’t go there!

I’m not opposed to a profit as long as it’s reasonable Not a 10000 percent mark up, plastic mold injection in an average crank bait costs very little

The value of any material product is the price someone is willing to pay.

Sometimes, the final lure is the result of years of trial and error with thousands spent on R&D (I know this is rare in the lure industry with many companies just replicating already established designs and ideas)

Custom work will always be the more expensive route. Although the end result will be the best that the builder can build. I do a lot of custom work for people that cannot find a discontinued product or just simply want the best of everything on a bait. Add 50 years of experience in testing and I feel you will receive the best that it can be. Ordering parts from 3 or more companies to build increases the shipping cost for the builder.

Breaking down a Spinner Bait for an example. One hour of time put into each bait built.
$2 - The best heads and wire sizes ordered from CAST Industries. You must order 100 of each size or if there are any changes in colors. The best hooks that CAST has to offer in extended shank. All Wires have the twisted line tie for added life of the bait.
$1 - Large 3 D Eyes installed.
$3 - Blades are electro plated for the best gold, copper and silver durability. Or they are Hildebrandt; being the best shaped blade.
$3 - Sampo® ball bearing swivels.
$2 - Skirts are also hand made from rolls of Living Rubber. All skirts are hand tied with Copper Wire.
$1 - Each bait is given a complementary Stanly Pro Trailer for natural swimming action.
$3 - For the one hour of build time.

As you can see this is NO money maker and more of a service for those wanting the best.

Depends.
Handmade swimbaits take time and skill to make. You’re paying for someone’s skills, time, and artistry. Hard to put a cut and paste price on that.

That money is being spent on more than the physical bait. It takes an operation to design, engineer, test, and tweak before they ever sell their first bait.

Fishing tackle is a want not a need. How bad do you want it?

What do you think about pro’s who lie in advertising?

Their just paid salespeople, up to you to make an educated buying decision.

I am sure some do; but most have a large part in designing baits of their choice. Now, many of those baits are not marked by the company and only the Porotypes are sold, which is a hit off of what he is really using in Tournaments. Still it is owned and controlled by that company.

Almost every sport have pros endorsed to do commercials and support their product. Support is the key work here and they must follow support rules. That might be wearing the basketball shoes in the first quarter of play; to only wearing them around town. This covers what they say in the advertisements about the product.

We will never really know the truth about their marketing strategies. Those are top secret. Ha..

Wholesale cost is usually around 50% of retail.

When I was sponsored by Rockford Fosgate, Optima, and Alpine...our “cost” for products was around %90 off of retail.
At that price, the companies broke even.

Having owner two tackle stores in years past, I can safely say that the "retailer markup" isn't nearly what some may think. And some items are sold at cost because if various reasons. Some things can be very profitable like in-house manufactured baits (spinnerbaits, jigs, etc) but the vast majority of items rely on quantity in order to return any appreciable income.

If I hadn't made and sold rods, spinnerbaits, and jigs I would have been working for nothing a lot of the time.

I've never bought a product of any type based on what a "pro" says - Unless, I know said pro personally and trust them. They are paid to say what they say and, If they lie, they have to live with themselves.

As a whole - if I can afford it - I buy it.
If I like it - I buy it and tell friends.
If I can't afford it and want it - I save to buy it.
That's my take - feel free to borrow.

I also know that what Donald says about spinnerbaits it 100% on point if you are using quality components.

Good description here.
You shouldn't view them as lying. They are promoting their sponsors product. Most people understand this and take it for what it is worth to them and then make their own decision about it.

I saw one introducing a jitterbug look alike and he said, “I’ve never seen anything like it” really never seen or fished a real Fred Arbogast jitterbug??? Whatever!