I don't know about anyone else, but I've noticed that the price of most ground seasonings and spices seems to be ridiculously high in grocery stores here in New York.

McCormick seems to have a near-monopoly on ground seasonings, albeit a very wide selection. Their selection does include things like ground and crystalized ginger, which is in the "gourmet" section in several stores here.   Things like ground marjoram or cumin will cost around  $4+ for a 1.25 ounce (35 g) container. Yet, even common seasonings like ground oregeno are still priced like that.   The smaller 0.37 ounce (10g) McCormick containers are still priced in the $3 range, which is a lot considering how much you get.

I can find common seasonings like cinnamon, oregano, garlic powder and basil in other brands much cheaper, especially store brands. For example, one chain here sells a 2..4 ounce (70g) container of garlic powder in its store brand for $0.99, yet the same McCormick version would cost several dollars more for some reason. The problem is only these very common spices seem to be available in other brands. If you want something a little more "exotic", you're mostly stuck with McCormick with few exceptions.  I haven't really noticed much difference between McCormick and other brands in terms of quality.