Can we say price gouging in light of recent events?

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There's not a single person here who wouldn't sell their item to the highest bidder. That's not immoral, that's capitalism.

For instance, you find a common painting at a garage sale and pay $5 for it. You decide to sell it on ebay for $10, and no bites. An Art friend comes to your home and sees it and appraises it at $500,000!!! It's a very rare piece.

Do you keep your $5 ebay ad up and sell it to the next person, or actually sell it for the 1/2 million that it's worth? Anyone who says they don't raise their price "OVERNIGHT" based on new information, supply and demand, is a liar.
 
Yeah, if anyone is wondering where all those PMags went, they are on gunbroker. People are starting their auctions at $200 for 5 mags...

I understand the supply and demand economy. I understand that technically price gouging cannot exist. That being said this bull**** just seems wrong.
 
Price gouging", as you people call it, prevents hoarding. More people get what they need, the few hoarders are discouraged from hoarding.

False dichotomy.

Many people who waited this long did so because they couldn't afford to buy sooner (like over the last 4 years, or between the election and Friday). These are the people who can least afford the massively inflated prices.

Meanwhile, those of us who are preparedness minded not only had enough already, but are generally the ones who could afford these prices; I have plenty of mags, so I'm not looking, but if I really felt pressed to get more, I could afford 20+ at these prices quite comfortably.

There's not a single person here who wouldn't sell their item to the highest bidder. That's not immoral, that's capitalism.

Well, there are a few exceptions to that, but yes, this is true. However, this is not an auction.

For instance, you find a common painting at a garage sale and pay $5 for it. You decide to sell it on ebay for $10, and no bites. An Art friend comes to your home and sees it and appraises it at $500,000!!! It's a very rare piece.

Forget same ballpark, it ain't even the same sport.

Anyone who says they don't raise their price "OVERNIGHT" based on new information, supply and demand, is a liar.

I said it before, and I'll say it again: I don't increase prices of the products I resell until after I've purchased the higher cost replacement. If the price of motor oil quintupled tomorrow, my customers would still get their oil changes at today's price until I run out of the oil I paid today's price for.

But then, I run a very different business model than most, and as such, I have an extremely loyal customer base. I started by business in Nov. 2010, and I've not had to advertise since mid-2011. 100% repeat and referral, and I'm usually scheduling at least a week out.
 
Just ordered from ammunitiontogo.com and prices for ammo at least seem to be the same as they have been. I think the mags might be a little more but I don't stay up to date on mag prices.
 
These threads piss me off. It show how uninformed this world really is on how the markets work. Price gouging is the only reason you can still buy an ar15 on gun broker today. In times of scarcity it ensures supply. You can still get one if you want one, But it prevents people from buying more than they need and allows people who need one to still get one. It is market forces working exactly as they should. Nobody seems to complain at all when the market works the opposite way. This just drives me absolutely nuts. Think these things thru people!!:banghead:
 
I understand that people can charge what they want. But on gunbroker one seller is listing multiple ar lowers stripped for 1-2k. That is just waiting for a sucker. Super unethical in my opinion.
 
My two cents...

So I didn't see what they were selling them for, but I assume it was at least twice what they had been selling for. Why can't I see what price they are? Because they are sold out. Apparently enough people were willing to give them the price they were asking and they still sold out in a few days.

During those few days the distribution of those magazines better reflected the true desires of the people in the market place than it would have if the price had been left alone. Several people have already been through this explanation on here. When a product is scarce there are three options, they are bought up very quickly by a few leaving those who were willing to pay more with none, rationing can be instituted, or prices can be raised so that those who value the product most are the ones who get it. The final option leads to the best allocation of an item, from an economic perspective. Sometimes in cases that deal with a necessity of life (food, water) rationing must be used to ensure that none die for want of it. (obviously not the case here) But doing nothing, not rationing or changing the price leads to the worst possible allocation.
 
It doesn't surprise me. CTD has always been quick to take advantage of situations and people. They have always been one of the more expensive places to deal with.....despite the name. They aren't the only ones I saw M885 for 599.99/1k at J&G yesterday, but it looks like they have removed it from their website. It is a free market and they can do as they please but so can we. In the future I will not do business with any of these spineless price gougers.
 
Does anyone here think for one minute that any business is there to help you.
They are in business to make money. Expect the worst and you will not be
disappointed when the prices go up to something you think is unfair.

Buy before you cant.
 
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