There has always been some secrecy about prices during exhibitions and a reluctance to hand out price lists to visitors. I can understand some of the historical reasons for this; trade prices shouldn't be disclosed to end users, competitors in disguise might be stealing your confidential secrets, prices depend on who you are and what you buy etc...
But I think there is now a wider acceptance and use of MSRP and RRP pricing and generally more visibility of prices via the web, so why shouldn't manufacturers and distributors display the MSRP/RRP of the products they are promoting? Wouldn't this be more helpful to the visitors and give them better visibility of the products value positioning? IPVM always makes a point of showing market/MSRP prices for products they are reviewing to ensure comparisons are relevant.
Certainly nearly every discussion I've had with a trade show visitor about a product has included the question "how much?" at some point, usually followed by a whispered reply as though we were imparting an official secret.
I recognise that many markets want to protect channels and use covert pricing to pass on profit opportunities but in the most developed markets shouldn't prices be more visible?