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As I mentioned before gas prices at interstate exits are virtually identical because large chains do not want to play the pricing game on each other (per John D Rockefeller advice) while smaller franchises do not dare an attempt. I frequent a town without major gas station chains, there is much more price variability, but again nothing dramatic.
You don't want to try answering the question? This is the second one you've dodged.
Consider the next town over with gas is more than 20+ miles away, than you really dont have a choice if your on empty. If your the only gas station, than yes.. price gouging.
No, not price gouging.
Why don't you take a crack at answering the question?
Let's consider the issue posed above. If I am the only gas station within 20 miles, you say that no one will have a choice, and I would be price gouging. Well, I would dearly LOVE to be a price gouger. So, since I am a price gouger, and I am the only game in town, I price my gas at $20/gallon. No other station for 20 miles. How much gas will I sell? I mean, after all, people don't have any choice. . .
Please understand that anti "gouging" laws are simply politicians pandering to constituents that lack an understanding of basic economics. While some states have anti "gouging" laws, not all do. In absence of a law, why wouldn't gas stations increase their prices ten fold? As price gougers, it should be easy to do that, shouldn't it?
For states that have anti "gouging" laws, what happens to the supply of gasoline (and bottled water and generators and plywood) in southern coastal states when a hurricane is approaching? Understanding the concept of a "price ceiling" makes the answer to this question readily apparent, even if you have never experienced it first hand.
Why don't you take a crack at answering the question?
Let's consider the issue posed above. If I am the only gas station within 20 miles, you say that no one will have a choice, and I would be price gouging. Well, I would dearly LOVE to be a price gouger. So, since I am a price gouger, and I am the only game in town, I price my gas at $20/gallon. No other station for 20 miles. How much gas will I sell? I mean, after all, people don't have any choice. . .
Not saying they will go that far, but yes i have seen it were they charge like $2 more than a station hundred miles down the road. Simple fact your the only gas station with in a hundred mile area.. Death valley region is a prime example how they are doing this. ( digging up a old pic i took of this happening)I like to call it blind pricing, because they can get away with it knowing they are the only game in town. Im sure some desperate person will pay least one gallon if they are on empty to get to the next town to get it cheaper. Location location location is what i been told.
Other gas stations were 2.99.. that was 100 miles up the road so why the huge difference.
Last edited by hitpausebutton2; 03-28-2017 at 11:12 AM..
Do you not want to answer the question that I posed in the post that you responded to?
I answered all your questions, but it seems that endless and mindless repetitions of the same old tired and false ideologiCal orthodoxy is pretty much the only your interest, reality be damned. Whatever makes you comfortable. I wonder why there are countless utility laws and regulations protecting you from the free market goodness of selling water to the thirsty people kind. Seriously why there are any laws limiting the extent to which one group of people can take advantage of another group circumstances for as long as an extortion scheme is economic in its nature? More interesting why some kinds of economic extortion are illegal while other extortion schemes are legal and much celebrated?
Lastly, why a middle income person like me rarely has a feeling of fair exchange? Much if not most economic transactions I enter leave a distinct taste of extortion under duress in my mouth? What happened to "it is good for me, it is good for you" why "it is good for you, you got me because I have no acceptable alternatives" dominates the economic field (looking from the middle income earner trenches)? When economics 101 made this nasty turn, or it always' been this way?
Last edited by RememberMee; 03-28-2017 at 11:33 AM..
Please understand that anti "gouging" laws are simply politicians pandering to constituents that lack an understanding of basic economics. While some states have anti "gouging" laws, not all do. In absence of a law, why wouldn't gas stations increase their prices ten fold? As price gougers, it should be easy to do that, shouldn't it?
For states that have anti "gouging" laws, what happens to the supply of gasoline (and bottled water and generators and plywood) in southern coastal states when a hurricane is approaching? Understanding the concept of a "price ceiling" makes the answer to this question readily apparent, even if you have never experienced it first hand.
When state of emergency kicks in, no prices on items such as you mention can be raised. Most retailers will watch the weather for such events so will increase the price before the law kicks in. CYOA.. Simple because it is in demand at the time of the event, is the old excuse supply and demand motto. During the post 9/11 the excuse was our supply was short when it never was, nor has been. Still they rose the prices out of fear. Not sure were you was but in my state were i live at the time, stations were changing prices daily for about a week, jump 10 cents to 50 cents at some locations before the news caught on.
Not saying they will go that far, but yes i have seen it were they charge like $2 more than a station hundred miles down the road. Simple fact your the only gas station with in a hundred mile area.. Death valley region is a prime example how they are doing this. ( digging up a old pic i took of this happening)I like to call it blind pricing, because they can get away with it knowing they are the only game in town. Im sure some desperate person will pay least one gallon if they are on empty to get to the next town to get it cheaper. Location location location is what i been told.
Still dodging the question.
The question I posed is legitimate and reasonable based on what you have posted regarding "price gouging." You really don't want to answer it?
Ah, Death Valley, and the charming town of Bishop, "Gateway to Death Valley.". I know it well, and traveled through Bishop an average of six times per year for more than 20 years. Current gas prices in Bishop are $2.89-2.99/gallon. Barstow gas prices right now are around 2.79/gallon. Not really a $2/gallon difference, is it?
But wait! Based on what you have written, Bishop is in a unique position to extract excess returns from captive travelers by charging outrageous "price gouger" prices for their gasoline. Why are gas prices there $2.99 instead of $4.99 as you claimed, or even better, $10.99/gallon? As price gougers that are serving captive customers with no other choice, they should be able to charge (and get) WHATEVER they want for gas. But that isn't happening. Not even on a small scale. Why not? The answer is abundantly clear - because "price gouging" doesn't exist.
I answered all your questions, but it seems that endless and mindless repetitions of the same old tired and false ideologiCal orthodoxy is pretty much the only your interest, reality be damned.
After 9/11, why didn't gas stations raise their prices ten-fold? If "price gouging" exists, it would have been easy for them to do so. Why didn't they?
I must have missed your responses. What are the post numbers where you answered the questions?
Quote:
Whatever makes you comfortable. I wonder why there are countless utility laws and regulations protecting you from the free market goodness of selling water to the thirsty people kind.
As I said before, I would desperately LOVE to be a price gouger. With that in mind, maybe I'll take to the streets today with a cooler full of ice cold bottled water to sell to thirsty people. As I price gouger, I will charge $10/bottle. Two questions. 1) How much water will I sell today, and 2) Which of the "countless utility laws and regulations" that you referenced above will prevent me from doing this?
Why do you all hate capitalism? In a capitalist system, entrepreneurs manipulate prices in order to maximize profit to shareholders, not benefits to customers.
Generally, lying to your customers about the product (has anyone gotten the advertised MBPS speed...ever?) and charging them in excess of the agreed upon price is does not maximize profits because in capitalistic economy there is a healthy level of competition and consumers can go to another company to find honest advertising and fair, transparent pricing. In the US, telecom companies work with the government to keep competitors out and prices high. It's not a free market and its not capitalism.
You have modified your original post, so let me address the new material.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RememberMee
<<SNIP>>
Seriously why there are any laws limiting the extent to which one group of people can take advantage of another group circumstances for as long as an extortion scheme is economic in its nature? More interesting why some form of economic extortion are illegal while other extortion schemes are legal and much celebrated?
I'm not sure why you are describing this as extortion when it is nothing of the kind. There is no force involved, no is compelled to engage in the exchange. What are the legal extortion's that you reference, and who is celebrating them?
Quote:
Lastly, why a middle income person like me rarely has a feeling of fair exchange? Much if not most economic transactions I enter leave a distinct taste of extortion under duress in my mouth? What happened to "it is good for me, it is good for you" why "it is good for you, you got me because I have no acceptable alternatives" dominates the economic field (looking from the middle income earner trenches)? When economic 101 made this nasty turn, or it always' been this way?
Why would you ever engage in an exchange if it was unfair? I would never do so, and I can't understand why anyone else would, either.
As rational utility maximizers (and we all are, baring some sort of mental deficiency), we make decisions based on our own assessment of our marginal costs and marginal benefits of the transaction, and we end up doing those things where our benefit exceeds our cost.
Understand that this doesn't mean that we will always be "happy" with a particular exchange, at least in the commonly understood sense. When I go to a baseball game, and pay $8 for a beer, am I "happy?" Of course not. I believe that the price is too high. However, I freely enter into the transaction, and there is no extortion. Why do I do it if I am not happy about the $8 price? Because, as a rational utility maximizer, my marginal benefit of having the beer exceeds the marginal cost of the beer.
As an aside, why aren't people hounding their politicians to put a stop to this "price gouging" that happens in concessions at sporting and theater venues?
Econ 101 has never made a "nasty turn." It has always been this way.
Too many people have this very strange idea that if something costs more than they believe it should cost, that someone is scr#$ing them, and engaging in "price gouging."
Hell, even monopolists can't price gouge, even if they wanted to. The concepts of elasticity and substitutes explain why they can't.
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