I stand by my quote about computers being expensive back then. Your recollection is flawed. I have receipts from the 1970s (I'm a packrat). My Apple II with 4K was $1200. 16K RAM banks (set of 8) did indeed go for $500 in late 1977. As you know, memory prices dropped and capacity increased every 18 months or so mirroring Moore's Law. By early 1979, 16K RAM banks had dropped to $250. I bought a set and have a receipt. By the way, the cost of producing chips was so expensive that many had gold in them. My Apple II chips have gold plated caps. So you don't know sh*t.
$27.50 X 8 chips = $220.00. If you paid more, you got ripped off.