I just got this case a few days ago amazon link

I absolutely love it. It can prop the nexus up in landscape mode, has a great leather feel to it, all the ports/microphone holes are designed to fit the nexus 7, and it has the magnetic wake/lock feature. Also good price at around $10

I was pretty unimpressed with the case that was offered in the google store for the nexus. I wound up purchasing this one and am quite happy. Good luck.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HDLI9Y/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

I think because they just want to try as sell as many as they can to new potential customers with the new 7. The normal price is around $15... so long story short the old version just isn't on sale.
Edit: If you are looking for a cheaper 2012 case I bought this one last November and it has held up extreamly well for somthing that was only $10 dollars. The feel of it is like real leather and it has not shown the least bit of wear on it. It fit like a glove and was not overly bulky and I can't tell you how many times I dropped my 7 in it and it always protected it well.
The only downside is when I first got it for a good day or so it has a extremely strong chemical type smell. After that it was smooth sailing and I would buy it again if I had to.