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Why not just raise prices on non-essential products? That will decrease sales and increase profits. Everyone wins that way: the folks who need essential produc
by zeveb 6y ago
Why not just raise prices on non-essential products? That will decrease sales and increase profits. Everyone wins that way: the folks who need essential products win, because the bandwidth available for their needs is increased; the sellers win; Amazon wins; and people who want non-essential products and are willing to pay for them win because they can still get them.
The people who want non-essential products but cannot or do not want to pay the current price do not win, but they are no worse off than being unable to buy at all.
- jefftk 6y agoWhile that would probably work, it may not be legal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_gouging https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_gouging
- dannyw 6y agoIs Uber surge pricing price gouging?
- harimau777 6y agoI'm not certain, but I think it would only be considered price gouging if it were in response to an emergency. It might also be price gouging in response to a shortage but I think that "shortage" in that case would more mean something like "the NYC subway is completely shutdown" rather than just rush hour or after a concert ends.
- jefftk 6y agoSome people think so! But price gouging is usually defined as being in response to emergencies, which a pandemic is and a sharp spike in Uber demand may (a tsunami) or may not (bars closing at 2am) be.
- jsight 6y agoUnfortunately, some people tend to think so.
- leetcrew 6y agouber surge pricing might actually be a good thing in an emergency. unlike buying all the hand sanitizer at your local CVS to resell, it can actually increase the "supply" of drivers. of course, if this saturates the road capacity, it might be a net negative.
- moron4hire 6y ago>> Price-gouging is often defined in terms of the three criteria listed below: A) Period of emergency...B) Necessary items..., C) Price ceilings I would think "Non-essential" is the negation of "Necessary".
- scarface74 6y agoFrom the first line in your link. "Common examples include price increases of basic necessities after natural disasters." The parent post specifically said non-essential products.
- jefftk 6y agoThe law is tricky, varies by state, and I think people are worried about falling on the wrong side of it. For example, here's what NJ uses to describe which goods are covered: "which is consumed or used to preserve, protect, or sustain the life, health, safety or comfort of persons or their property". This could include many things we consider "non-essential". Additionally, they're probably worried about public perception, even if it might be strictly legal.
- scarface74 6y agoSo if you sold at an auction like eBay would that be illegal?
- jefftk 6y agoeBay thinks so: https://www.ebayinc.com/stories/news/we-are-actively-removing-price-gouging-prohibited-items-from-ebays-marketplace/ https://www.ebayinc.com/stories/news/we-are-actively-removin...
- dominotw 6y ago> non-essential Amazon already has a classification for this. correct?
- grumple 6y agoIt seems like they are out of most essential products, though?
- s1artibartfast 6y agoWhy do you assume that profits would increase if purchases went down and price went up?
- zeveb 6y agoThey are trying to reduce sales of non-essential products by X% without raising prices; my suggestion is to raise prices until sales naturally reduce by X%. Since in both instances sales are reduced to the same number but in my scenario prices are higher, my scenario leads to increased profits versus their current approach. Granted I didn't phrase it particularly well.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- toasterlovin 6y agoRaising prices in response to natural disasters is a really bad move for a company's reputation, regardless of how logical it may seem. And Amazon is already under a lot of scrutiny by the public and politicians. The last thing they need to do is affix a very large target to their back.