4 ms·

That is exactly the kind of machine we must nip in the bud. This guy was organizing a cartel from the ground up.

TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
Keeping consumers safe from the horror of an international poster monopoly? His mistake wasn't creating a cartel, it was using big league price-fixing tactics while being a minor league player - or for impersonating a giant corporation while being a little person. That will get you a nasty sentence if you try it and get caught. Actual price-fixing by corporates is hardly rare, and it doesn't seem to attract much regulator interest. See e.g. http://www.computerworld.com/article/2485343/technology-law-regulation/hp-sues-seven-optical-drive-makers-over-price-fixing.html http://www.computerworld.com/article/2485343/technology-law-...
- onion2k 12y ago
  Actually his mistake was sharing the information. Had he only used it himself to automatically undercut the competition where there was still a profit to be made he could have built himself a nice monopoly.
  - wlesieutre 12y ago
    Or his competitors could have lowered their prices to compete with him, which is ideally how these things go. I don't think the higher priced competitors would have just poofed out of business.
  - joshstrange 12y ago
    What you describe is not price fixing so yes, it would be fine (and is used by a number of sellers).
- anigbrowl 12y ago
  Regulators quite often take an interest in these things. That doesn't mean the regulatory agency always makes the first move. If you search for 'consumer price fixing litigation' you'll find plenty of examples,; top of my list was Apple being slapped with a $450 million fine for price-fixing of ebooks. This guy is being hit with a $20,000 fine as part of a plea deal, which presumably means he's giving the state evidence on his co-conspirators. Perhaps they will get hit with fines in the $50-100,000 range; at a guess this vendor is having to disgorge his illicit profits but escaping any statutory penalties by cooperating.

Keeping consumers safe from the horror of an international poster monopoly? His mistake wasn't creating a cartel, it was using big league price-fixing tactics while being a minor league player - or for impersonating a giant corporation while being a little person. That will get you a nasty sentence if you try it and get caught. Actual price-fixing by corporates is hardly rare, and it doesn't seem to attract much regulator interest. See e.g. http://www.computerworld.com/article/2485343/technology-law-regulation/hp-sues-seven-optical-drive-makers-over-price-fixing.html http://www.computerworld.com/article/2485343/technology-law-...

onion2k 12y ago
Actually his mistake was sharing the information. Had he only used it himself to automatically undercut the competition where there was still a profit to be made he could have built himself a nice monopoly.
- wlesieutre 12y ago
  Or his competitors could have lowered their prices to compete with him, which is ideally how these things go. I don't think the higher priced competitors would have just poofed out of business.
- joshstrange 12y ago
  What you describe is not price fixing so yes, it would be fine (and is used by a number of sellers).
anigbrowl 12y ago
Regulators quite often take an interest in these things. That doesn't mean the regulatory agency always makes the first move. If you search for 'consumer price fixing litigation' you'll find plenty of examples,; top of my list was Apple being slapped with a $450 million fine for price-fixing of ebooks. This guy is being hit with a $20,000 fine as part of a plea deal, which presumably means he's giving the state evidence on his co-conspirators. Perhaps they will get hit with fines in the $50-100,000 range; at a guess this vendor is having to disgorge his illicit profits but escaping any statutory penalties by cooperating.