4 ms·

Unfortunately in digital age, a consumer can get the product by illegal means even if they can't afford it and producer doesn't really have a way to stop this i

Unfortunately in digital age, a consumer can get the product by illegal means even if they can't afford it and producer doesn't really have a way to stop this illegal behavior. What do you mean "in the digital age"? Ever heard the term "black market"? Of course it's a market correction, it just happens to be an extralegal one. The laws of economics don't stop applying, and the market doesn't go away, just because a producer has been granted a government-enforced monopoly; no matter how appealing the notion is, making something illegal doesn't make it magically disappear. I have little doubt that producers could find ways to successfully sell their products anyway, but that would require sucking it up and admitting that they have to compete on actual value, instead of relying on massive government market intervention.

solutionyogi 17y ago
Show me one example of a black market where consumer can get the EXACT same product as available in open market for FREE and if it is as easy as clicking a button on a screen. Forget free, you will be hard pressed to find an example where black market offers a product which costs less. Black markets happen when consumer want something but they can't buy it legally (e.g. drugs, organs etc.)
- aniketh 17y ago
  The currency market in India for exchange rates in the black market till sometime ago gave better rates than legal conversion.
  - nico 17y ago
    It still happens in Cuba: dollar to cuban convertible pesos, it is cheaper on the streets.
rbranson 17y ago
I would argue that the open source software movement fits into the "black market" for purposes of argument. In many cases open source software is superior to commercial software. There are other ways commercial software competes, and they've tried to outlaw it in a roundabout way thru patent litigation, but in reality, they've just had to face the music.

solutionyogi 17y ago

Show me one example of a black market where consumer can get the EXACT same product as available in open market for FREE and if it is as easy as clicking a button on a screen. Forget free, you will be hard pressed to find an example where black market offers a product which costs less. Black markets happen when consumer want something but they can't buy it legally (e.g. drugs, organs etc.)

aniketh 17y ago
The currency market in India for exchange rates in the black market till sometime ago gave better rates than legal conversion.
- nico 17y ago
  It still happens in Cuba: dollar to cuban convertible pesos, it is cheaper on the streets.

rbranson 17y ago

I would argue that the open source software movement fits into the "black market" for purposes of argument. In many cases open source software is superior to commercial software. There are other ways commercial software competes, and they've tried to outlaw it in a roundabout way thru patent litigation, but in reality, they've just had to face the music.