Libertarian Opinion; Is the Concept of "Price Gouging" a Communist Concept?

[chizzle]

There was a thread here about it. Check the "boycott chapter than dirt" face book page or look here. Basically ctd sided with the lib s over online gun sales for a couple days, lost teens of thousands of subscribers ect ect before wising up.

Charging 60$ for a pmag? Free markets wool handle that too, lol

Forgive my ignorance about the issue, but did Cheaper Than Dirt officially come out and say why they briefly suspended firearm sales? I wasn't sure if they suspended sales due to philosophical reasons (caving to liberal media) or if they simply suspended sales due to insufficient inventory like several other businesses have done.

 

[Rob377]

There was a thread here about it. Check the "boycott chapter than dirt" face book page or look here. Basically ctd sided with the lib s over online gun sales for a couple days, lost teens of thousands of subscribers ect ect before wising up.

Charging 60$ for a pmag? Free markets wool handle that too, lol

COMMUNIST!

 

[chizzle]

COMMUNIST!

Be gentle Rob, I want to make sure we keep it as friendly of a discussion as possible. Not everybody here knows how good of a sense of humor you have

 

[Prometheus]

Forgive my ignorance about the issue, but did Cheaper Than Dirt officially come out and say why they briefly suspended firearm sales? I wasn't sure if they suspended sales due to philosophical reasons (caving to liberal media) or if they simply suspended sales due to insufficient inventory like several other businesses have done.

Did you miss the part of my post where I told you where to find more information on the subject if you wanted to know more?

Would have been quicker than asking a question that was already answered.

 

[chizzle]

Did you miss the part of my post where I told you where to find more information on the subject if you wanted to know more?

Would have been quicker than asking a question that was already answered.

I did some searching this afternoon, but never found any damning evidence that Cheaper Than Dirt did any more than raised prices (a lot) to pump the brakes during the initial panic buying, and paused it's firearm sales while guns were flying off the shelves (possibly just trying to prevent them from selling items they didn't have in inventory). Do you have any other evidence? I read a lot of speculation and a lot of complaints from people that don't like their business practices, but precious few facts.

 

[level.eleven]

Where does communism enter into this discussion?

 

[chizzle]

Where does communism enter into this discussion?

Sorry, we haven't really discussed that. It is mentioned in the original post, last paragraph.

 

[level.eleven]

Sorry, we haven't really discussed that. It is mentioned in the original post, last paragraph.

Yes, I read that. I don't understand how charging $250 for a sheet of plywood while a hurricane is bearing down is an indictment against communism.

 

[Matt52]

Well its one thing to take a 900 Bushmaster AR and jack it up to 1100 or 1200 dollars its an entirely different kind of crazy to jack it up to 1800 dollars which I recently saw at a gunshop on the southside of Indy.

 

[mydoghasfleas]

Yes, I read that. I don't understand how charging $250 for a sheet of plywood while a hurricane is bearing down is an indictment against communism.

What price do you think should the government should set for a sheet of plywood?

 

[chizzle]

Yes, I read that. I don't understand how charging $250 for a sheet of plywood while a hurricane is bearing down is an indictment against communism.

If one agrees that communism sets prices based on "need" instead of being based on supply and demand, one can see how in a time of increased demand (like the current surge in demand for AR-15's) that people's efforts to control prices only make shortages worse.

The post that discusses the gentleman who tried to haul generators to the Mississippi area after Katrina is a great example. Even though he went to a ton of work, took on a ton of risk, and people voluntarily purchased the goods he brought, he was JAILED for "price gouging" and all the generators were seized. Who was harmed in that situation? The even better question is, who was helped in that situation? Calling something "price gouging" seems more about control, than anything that helps our economy respond to emergencies.

In your plywood example, much like the high prices we are seeing right now on magazines, are serving as a life lesson for people who have failed to prepare. Hopefully the pain of seeing $250 plywood encourages folks to plan ahead for the next emergency by purchasing some plywood when prices go back down, storing it, buying shutters, etc.

 

[chizzle]

Well its one thing to take a 900 Bushmaster AR and jack it up to 1100 or 1200 dollars its an entirely different kind of crazy to jack it up to 1800 dollars which I recently saw at a gunshop on the southside of Indy.

Check Gunbroker; I think they may be closer to current market value than we'd like to admit. With that, and the prospect of limited supply for the near future, I could see how they wouldn't want to give their last one away.

 

[chizzle]

I just came across this Reason.com video explaining how rules against so-called "price gouging" backfired against the residents of New Jersey during the fuel shortage that followed hurricane Sandy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I293Ci7FddI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[dross]

Well its one thing to take a 900 Bushmaster AR and jack it up to 1100 or 1200 dollars its an entirely different kind of crazy to jack it up to 1800 dollars which I recently saw at a gunshop on the southside of Indy.

Why are they different?

It's all just a number. It's the buyer who sets the price, not the seller. If your price is too high, it won't sell. If it sells, your prices wasn't too high.

If I own something, why can't I put any price on it that I wish?

I really don't understand this it all.

 

[firehawk1]

"There's a sucker born every minute"... P. T Barnum

Caveat emptor....