Best Air Ticket Prices?

[W.HI.P]

i've spent 13 years of my life travelling.... mostly n.america/europe.
i have never spent more than 680 canadian dollars on a return ticket from anywhere to anywhere.
everyone else i know has spent up to 2 grand for the exact same tickets.
the secret to getting these tickets cheaper is competition.
when you go to a ticket agent, their objective is to get the most money out of you that they can get....they recieve a percentage of that.
you have to shop around, and even entering that first agent, when they quote you their cheapest price on a return ticket from lets say, toronto/rome/toronto, tell them you've already found a better price....the chances are, rather than losing you as a customer, they'll find a cheaper price for you.
prices of tickets vary based on the millions of combinations they can find....it takes time for an agent to truly find a cheap combination, you've got to make them work for you.
i really don't understand why people pay 1500 or 2000 on a return ticket they can get for 650 with a little effort.

i mean thats like 1300 bucks, with lets say 6 hours of extra work.
what kind of job pays you over 200 dollars/per hour

i have no experience with purchasing tickets online, so i can't give you advice there