381–390 of 450 posts
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I agree with the approach but not the instances. 1 pack of toilet paper lasts a good while so that's OK. 1 pack of pasta per day means you have to go back to store every day and expose yourself and others to danger.
In a catastrophe, carbs are a terrible staple. High volume for low satiety. Fiber, fat, and protein are far more efficient.
From an economics stand point, I don't understand why the government should ban price-gouging. Doesn't this place an artificial price ceiling that will ensure a shortage of goods? I would personally rather stores have items such as food/water at marked-up prices than not at all.
Because you shouldn't look with an econ lens. It's the same reason charging a ton for insulin is bad for society.
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Absolutely, I cannot fathom how people are so anti-government that they cannot see the forest from the tree. These types of situations are textbook explanations for WAR PROFITEERING (except we are in a crisis instead of war).
> These types of situations are textbook explanations for WAR PROFITEERING (except we are in a crisis instead of war). Meh. I don't think it is the same thing at all. There is no shortage of raw materials or of labor (as in war time). There is an increased demand (irrational or rational doesn't matter). Best way to decrease demand is to let prices rise. It isn't really any simpler than that. If politeness or customs…
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Yep, here's that comment. Business benefit over direct customer benefit seems to be the manta these days.
I'm not sure how the parent thinks it will help with shortages, but sales tax adds to the price that the consumer pays. On sales tax holidays you see prices go down.
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I wonder whether that's legal or not. Presumably they bought the goods before this thing blew up and the terms of sale at the time of purchase allowed for returns. Are stores allowed to retroactively change their return ploicy? Do they have a "we can deny returns for any reason" clause in their return policy? Is that legal?
Why would it be illegal? Unless the product is proven to be defective or unsafe, I can't see how you could force a company to accept a refund when someone changes their mind. Companies only do this when they think it is good for their reputation. They aren't going to care that a price gouger gets stuck with thousands in losses.
This only makes sense if no refund policy was posted ahead of time. I don't know about the situation in Australia, but most stores in my area have their return policies printed on the receipt, and nearly all of them have them posted in-store or online.
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In a catastrophe, carbs are a terrible staple. High volume for low satiety. Fiber, fat, and protein are far more efficient.
They're shelf stable, which is useful quality if power goes out and you can't keep your refrigerator or freezer cold.
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The price float shouldn't happen . Furthermore, an alternative measure, social ostracization/legal pressure is being employed to remedy the situation. Existence is not the Market, and the Market does not take place in a void. You cannot reduce the world to a bunch of economic models, because at the end of the day, people will get tired of your Quant's BS and do something that generally doesn't end well for the person…
The price float did not happen and what was the result? Empty shelves. Is that a satisfactory outcome from your standpoint?
As a bonus, we all have a series of examples of what not to be that have soared into the limelight to remind us all that even if we are stuck in a pandemic, at least we weren't horrible enough to have to figure out what to do with more stock than we can feasibly sell or distribute for more than it cost to consolidate it into a single location because we were intending to pull one over on everyone else.
Win/win. Supply goes home. Everyone reminded not to be a dick, and a few people have learned a very valuable lesson about logistics, society, the economy, and what not to do during an international fucking pandemic. Maybe no one else has to deal with the damage caused by asshole speculators.
A lot of people in this thread are willfully ignoring some basic facts here. These products are being made in sufficient quantity for everyone. There is not a significant decrease in production. There is a significant increase in hoarding, and in many cases it is for the explicit purpose of creating artificial scarcity to increase the price of a product. This is not a case of toilet paper suddenly costing more to pro…
> This is a case of consumers attempting to create small niches of artificial scarcity so that they can profit. A good example of this is in a related thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22576225 The article describes how a couple of guys drove from store to store all across their state, buying up all of the antiseptic supplies in stock, and then trying to resell them online for as much money as they could p…
https://abc14news.com/2020/03/14/canadian-couple-make-more-t...
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"There is a significant increase in hoarding, and in many cases it is for the explicit purpose of creating artificial scarcity to increase the price of a product." People hoarding aren't trying to create artificial scarcity. They are buying because they anticipate scarcity, and want to either (i) be prepared, or (ii) profit from resale. Hoarding has caused shortages which, in turn, justify the original hoarding. This…
I believe the poster was referring to bad actors who have tried to buy up all the local supply so they can resell it at higher prices, not people just stocking up a bit on toiletries for their personal use. Yes, the latter can also cause a shortage but that’s not the cause of the ethical dilemma here nor is it the motivation for price gouging laws.
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> and in many cases it is for the explicit purpose of creating artificial scarcity to increase the price of a product. So are you suggesting: - I create a toilet paper cartel with all my buddies - we hit surrounding area grocery stores with surgical TP buying - Hoard til prices rise - dump on muppet consumers - profit?? this is ridiculous
Yes, that is exactly what some people are doing, and what has quite a few posters justifiably angry. It may sound ridiculous to you, but That doesn't mean there isn't another person out there willing to do it.
https://abc14news.com/2020/03/14/canadian-couple-make-more-t...