why does it cost $3000, that's some crazy pricing, they kept raising the price over the years too, I remember many years it was only $2500 even though not much if at all changed in the guitar
It has better pickups, probably made from slightly nicer wood (the quartersawn maple on Jem necks looks sweet), and it has all the unique aesthetic features (Monkey grips, lion claws, vines, pyramids). Based on the spare parts prices the gold hardware on the 7WH also costs a little more. The Jems are also setup better from the factory than the RG's, more hands on time increases the manufacturing cost.
Then you have the fact that it's a high end Prestige flagship model, in addition to being a signature model. So Ibanez wants a little extra for the privilege of you owning one of the flagship models and Steve also wants his cut, which is why it's a $3000 guitar. Yep the price on new Jems has gone up over the years, though the price on used Jems hasn't gone up much, accounting for inflation the used price has actually gone down on the 7V, not up.
The new PIA model is a $3500 guitar, so don't expect new prices to go down.