Calling all illustrators

I am an illustrator myself and I have been doing this for 4 years. What I have seen during this relatively short time are the prices which are falling lower and lower. Why do you allow this? Why do you bid on low paying jobs? You are ruining this industry for all of us by placing your bids on low paying jobs. Stop doing it if you want to see the prices rise, otherwise the word is spreading quickly that a picture book can be illustrated for $500 or even lower. A fair price for an illustration, a single piece is $250-500, even $100/page can be considered a good price. Don't go too much lower than that. The word has been spread and the evil has been done, by you, accepting to work for peanuts. Just stop bidding on low paying jobs and you will see a rise in the prices I promise you. It doesn't matter where you live, charging low is hurting all artists.