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I'd also like to see Amazon go after vendors that ask absurd prices for used merchandise. Predatory pricing is simply not acceptable. The highest price for a us

I'd also like to see Amazon go after vendors that ask absurd prices for used merchandise. Predatory pricing is simply not acceptable. The highest price for a used item is often several orders of magnitude greater than the lowest price. Their strategy is simple: once the item sells out at more reasonable prices, the only vendor left standing will be the predator.

rahimnathwani 7y ago
You're using the term 'predatory pricing' in a non-standard way. Predatory pricing is the practice of pricing low (sometimes lower than cost) to drive competitors out of business. But you seem to be using the term to refer to pricing _high_, which is the opposite. In any case, why does it matter if a seller asks a high price for something? If you and I are unwilling to pay the price, no one will force us to buy the item. Are you also against people placing very low bids for items you're selling on eBay?
- chmaynard 7y ago
  Merchants sometimes try to gouge customers by raising prices greatly when supply is constrained temporarily, such as during a natural disaster. I thought the term for this behavior was 'predatory pricing', but perhaps I got it wrong.
bogomipz 7y ago
Predatory pricing is actually when you price products really low and undercut everyone.
analognoise 7y ago
Isn't that a standard arbitrage mechanic? They're providing a service by storing and stocking items that the general market has decided are not worth producing more of, and people are willing to pay more for certain odds and ends. It would only be predatory if the items were produced in insufficient quantities on purpose to specifically make money on the arbitrage mechanic, which isn't sustainable for any serious business who wants to maintain its reputation. It seems like a valid strategy, and I'm failing to see how it's predatory. Could you elaborate?
- reaperducer 7y ago
  The problem is when it becomes absurd. A few years ago one of the big dryer sheet brands sold an adhesive bar that you stuck to the inside of your dryer. So instead of throwing a dryer sheet in with each load you just changed this bar every six months. It sold for about $7 in the supermarket, until it was discontinued. Then the only place to get it was Amazon, where thanks to crazy algorithmic pricing it ended up being over $1,400 the last time I checked.
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    The supply curve shifted, and hence the price moved along the curve. If the demand curve also shifts due to the new price being too high, then the price will once again go down. The solution already exists, without any outside forces. If the seller prices too high, they won’t sell, and if they want to sell, they will have to lower their price.
erichocean 7y ago
Vendors do that so they can track pricing over time. Unless you have an actual listing, Amazon provides no mechanism to see when your competitors re-price their listings (without regular scraping, of course, which Amazon frowns on). So if it's a product you would list (but currently don't have in stock), you can just list it with an absurdly high price, gather pricing history, and once you do have it available, list competitively.
- zaroth 7y ago
  Thank you that’s very insightful, and explains a real world effect that previously made no sense. Why bother listing something at an absurd price? Because of the side-effect of it granting you access to pricing.
freehunter 7y ago
There’s always the option of not buying something if the price is too high?

rahimnathwani 7y ago

You're using the term 'predatory pricing' in a non-standard way. Predatory pricing is the practice of pricing low (sometimes lower than cost) to drive competitors out of business. But you seem to be using the term to refer to pricing _high_, which is the opposite. In any case, why does it matter if a seller asks a high price for something? If you and I are unwilling to pay the price, no one will force us to buy the item. Are you also against people placing very low bids for items you're selling on eBay?

chmaynard 7y ago
Merchants sometimes try to gouge customers by raising prices greatly when supply is constrained temporarily, such as during a natural disaster. I thought the term for this behavior was 'predatory pricing', but perhaps I got it wrong.

bogomipz 7y ago

Predatory pricing is actually when you price products really low and undercut everyone.

analognoise 7y ago

Isn't that a standard arbitrage mechanic? They're providing a service by storing and stocking items that the general market has decided are not worth producing more of, and people are willing to pay more for certain odds and ends. It would only be predatory if the items were produced in insufficient quantities on purpose to specifically make money on the arbitrage mechanic, which isn't sustainable for any serious business who wants to maintain its reputation. It seems like a valid strategy, and I'm failing to see how it's predatory. Could you elaborate?

reaperducer 7y ago
The problem is when it becomes absurd. A few years ago one of the big dryer sheet brands sold an adhesive bar that you stuck to the inside of your dryer. So instead of throwing a dryer sheet in with each load you just changed this bar every six months. It sold for about $7 in the supermarket, until it was discontinued. Then the only place to get it was Amazon, where thanks to crazy algorithmic pricing it ended up being over $1,400 the last time I checked.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  The supply curve shifted, and hence the price moved along the curve. If the demand curve also shifts due to the new price being too high, then the price will once again go down. The solution already exists, without any outside forces. If the seller prices too high, they won’t sell, and if they want to sell, they will have to lower their price.

erichocean 7y ago

Vendors do that so they can track pricing over time. Unless you have an actual listing, Amazon provides no mechanism to see when your competitors re-price their listings (without regular scraping, of course, which Amazon frowns on). So if it's a product you would list (but currently don't have in stock), you can just list it with an absurdly high price, gather pricing history, and once you do have it available, list competitively.

zaroth 7y ago
Thank you that’s very insightful, and explains a real world effect that previously made no sense. Why bother listing something at an absurd price? Because of the side-effect of it granting you access to pricing.

freehunter 7y ago

There’s always the option of not buying something if the price is too high?