I agree. $400 is way high. You should be able to buy a stripped lower for $150ish and then add about $50 for a RRA parts group.
All the distributors I know can't get anything right now in the way of AR15s. Delton is about 4 months behind. JSE is having a hard time getting anything, and is getting shorted by almost every supplier. CMMG is running about flat out and is only selling complete guns - no parts. I talked to the owners of CMMG a couple weeks ago, and they're trading other manufacturers for parts, and they're a military supplier. That should tell you the real state of things...
Ammo is my biggest worry right now. It has doubled in the past few years, and shows no sign of slowing. This ammo grab is just making it worse. 22LR is even scarce around here. Our local Wal-Mart has been out of the 550 rd bricks since before Christmas. I guess I need to start reloading more and buy up all the 22 when I can...
Danny