Wow $4K, that's hughway robbery.... I was trying to publish something a couple years ago in an Open Access journal, and I remember the fees being only around $2K.
Discussion
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.
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.