Talk about sweeping statements. There is a hell of a lot more to "Basic market economics" than "If the market's not willing to pay, then the market will adjust the price" but thanks for ridiculing everyone in the field.
In this particular instance, cases are just an accessory market for Apple. They don't care if they are selling as many of these as possible because it's not even a secondary revenue stream. They can afford to let it just sit there at $29 until it rots or someone buys it.
Ok, that's just plain wrong. Stores like the Apple Store or Fry's make their biggest margins on the accessories. Of course they care about selling as many any the can. You really think the margin on an iPhone is anywhere nearly as big as the margin on a rubber iPhone case?
Any economist will tell you there is cost associated with having inventory sitting on the shelves and not moving. Floorspace in an Apple Store, or any store for that matter, isn't free. There's rent, opportunity cost, maintenance, etc. Basically, if people stopped paying high prices for rubber cases at a store, the store will drop the price because there's cost associated with it sitting there. Maybe Apple can endure a lot more pain than their competitors, but that's not magic, that's because of the pile of cash they're sitting on. If they had less cash, they wouldn't be able to endure as much pain in the market. Yes, maybe there's other forces at work, but basic market forces don't stop applying just because it's Apple.
In this particular instance, cases are just an accessory market for Apple. They don't care if they are selling as many of these as possible because it's not even a secondary revenue stream. They can afford to let it just sit there at $29 until it rots or someone buys it.