Decades ago, I was in a military exercise during the hot summer of mid-Taiwan. We drove by this garlic field and attempted to find a bargain. This old guy, wrinkled as a life-long farmer, looked at these 4 soldiers in a jeep and handed us a burlap sack, probably 30 pounds or so, and accepted about 2 dollars in exchange. That sack came to the mess hall every meal that summer. Everyone would grab a bulb or two as they entered. We ate them raw. Smash the bulb on the table with the palm, peel a clove clean, pop it in the mouth, sometimes dip in soy sauce, and chew with whatever. The army foods became eatable. If everyone eats garlic, then no one has bad breath. That was the cheapest garlic I have ever bought.
The other day, at Whole Foods of Seattle, I learned that a pound of Garlic, organic, mind you, costs $5.99 a pound, that’s about 10 or 11 bulbs. 
Few aisles down, I noticed a package in the fresh produce section. Holy Guacamole. That’s one bulb of garlic for $3.99. Seriously!?!?! That about $40 per pound. Today, I was in Costco and glanced at their garlic. That’s 3 lbs for $4.79, or $1.597 per pound.
Whole Foods normal garlic is 3.75 times more expensive than Costco. That super garlic is about 25 times. How can a commodity differ so much in price? Does the $40 per lb garlic expel vampires quicker?
Family knows that I enjoy raw garlic with pot stickers, like wasabi with sashimi. Wife makes the best pot stickers, which is heaven with garlic and cold beers. The memory of the burlap sack is just nostalgia of youthful years.