Fed rate increase = lower hifi prices?
Will the recent rate hike meant to slow down the economy result in lower hifi prices? Seems everything shot up during Covid. Will we now see some relief?
I don't pretend to understand what people mean by the term "price gouging". I googled it and it was explained as a situation where in times of emergency (however defined) certain goods are subject to rationing to prevent things like hoarding. Price gouging then occurs if some people find themselves with more than they require on-sell for an exorbitant price. Has that happened? Did I blink?
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It was intended to provoke thought. Its unfair to limit someones profit potential if you are unwilling to limit their losses. I don't support this way of thinking, Its why I am opposed to price caps or floors. Its a problem I have with releasing the strategic oil reserves so car trips to Wallyworld remain affordable.
I hear it frequently said that the price of oil/gasoline is too high at a given point in time and that the industry is "gouging". No one whines when prices are so low that it actually stimulates other industries. We hear it frequently from industries who have no pricing power or who are experiencing a demand/supply imbalance, especially if they believe their product deserves subsidies.
Once again, understanding human nature helps us all place these data points in proper perspective. Lets take western states and water for example. There are numerous examples of communities that were/are subsidized with cheap water and the inherent waste of that precious resource is quite visible. Vegas? Palm Springs? LA? Water has been too cheap as evidenced by its waste. Food and water are the only commodities which cant be substituted. There are subsets of food which can be substituted for other subsets so the free market can work, sortof(regional, climate induced scarcity occurs all the time). Water on the other hand is interesting...you have good/safe water or you don't. Of course, we live in a world where we take perfectly average tap water from one region, run it through a filter, slap a label on it and then ship it around the globe in a plastic bottle with an exorbinant markup. Doesnt matter to me...as long I have access to safe water to substitute. If the cost of hifi gear became prohibitive, maybe people substitute it for a cooperatively funded live performance? Who knows...
The good news is not only are we not burdened with solving these problems of demand/supply imbalance, they inevitably take care of themselves if humans keep being humans. |
@ghasley When Covid first hit, I saw a report of a young lad who decided he was going to buy up huge supplies of hand sanitizer. Apparently, he did succeed in this and was able to temporarily impact the supply of hand sanitizer. This bad actor then released on a limited basis these hand sanitizing bottles at prices that were 10-20 times what the typical cost had been before the onset. This was found to be price gouging and the Feds shut this fellow down. I guess you have never been the target or the subject of price gouging, otherwise you may not be justifying those actions...no?? |
@ghasley good to see some micro economic principles discussed, and usually people can agree on the logic as hand-waving and speculation is kept to a minimum. The politics of water are pretty ordinary - sensible economists have left the building.. In my country it is bureaucrats who administer the politics. The Nth Koreans could probably plan better.
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@daveyf nobody is condoning anything that is illegal. That would have been contrary to any emergency regulations that were swiftly put in place. Perhaps not by the letter, but at least in spirit. Judges are not amused by those antics. What I’m seeking is some non-emergency examples of pricing irregularities in hifi that cannot be explained logically. Coz people just say stuff and say, oh, price gouging, huge profits. I understand that respected tube sellers rationed recently, and kept prices not too far away from normal. Because reputation and credibility. Think.
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