Yeah that sounds about right. Journals def milk their perceived prestige and charge accordingly. Publishing in Nature will set you back USD $10,000. It's just completely unhinged.
Discussion
By perceived I mean the perception of funding agencies and therefore academics trying to get funding. The prestige is entirely fabricated.
Wow $10k is bonkers. I mean I guess you're paying for the "prestige" at that point, and I guess if Uncle Sam's footing the bill, "everyone wins"...
It's very rough on the average lab because USD $10,000 is a very steep price that takes a big chunk out of already very thin budgets. So basically they price out most labs and therefore most research.