Policy on Price Gouging

[tr-biloxi-ms]

I just read that ebay has an anti-price gouging policy. If the free market can't determine the price, then who does?

Many believe that when there is a shortage of an item then the price should not go up. This is a sure fired  way to go from shortage to total absence of a product. It happens to gasoline every time a hurricane is coming toward the gulf coast where I live. Prices can't be increased due to demand. So people buy more than they need. They even fill up barrels and hoard it. And soon there's no gasoline for anyone. If the price was higher most people would buy what they needed but not more than that.

And just who is the guilty party in price gouging? The seller? The buyer who is ok paying the price? Both? Is it gouging if no one buys?

And just to end my rant I've always wanted a Rolls Royce but due to price gouging I can't buy one. I'd like an American version of a 1961 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud.  There are only 54 in the USA so supply is limited. There's one listed on eBay now for $399,900. Price gouging police, go to work.  According to ebay policy this car should not be more expensive just because supply is limited.  Please contact me when the price is the same as other 1961 model cars on ebay. Thank-you.

[pburn]

I feel like I've encountered a rip in the space-time continuum that has turned back the calendar one year.

You might want to revisit the concept of "price gouging:"

"Price gouging refers to when retailers and others take advantage of spikes in demand by charging exorbitant prices for necessities, often after a natural disaster or other state of emergency. Thirty-six states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia have statutes or regulations that defining price gouging during a time of disaster or emergency. In most states, price gouging is set as a violation of unfair or deceptive trade practices law. Most of these laws provide for civil penalties, as enforced by the state attorney general, while some state laws also enforce criminal penalties for price gouging violations."

Fortunately, a Rolls Royce is not a necessity in my neighborhood.

Keep looking at all eBay's policies, though. I'm sure you'll come across something else to be outraged about.

Offensive materials policy 

Animal products policy 

Oh, hey! How about that ban on Dr. Seuss books? 

[kensgiftshop]

@tr-biloxi-ms 

Since no one needs a Rolls Royce to survive, it's not considered price gouging.

[615ann1111]

I agree.  Price gouging is not only attached to "items needed to survive" lol.  They are attached to books, toys, video game accounts etc..  Sometimes I think Ebay is run by someone in North Korea and just doesn't want to make a profit. Or either they hate capitalism behind closed doors. If you don't want to buy something that's overpriced, don't buy it.  Sick of these companies trying to push morals on to people. Funny, because most of these people in charge definitely don't want any morals pushed on to them. 

[pburn]

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@615ann1111 wrote:

I agree.  Price gouging is not only attached to "items needed to survive" lol.  

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There's no "lol" involved in the legal definition of "price gouging." Your mistaken opinion of what the concept means has no bearing on the actual meaning of the phrase. Your opinion does not trump the facts. The days of people coming up with opinions and passing them off as facts are over.

I'm just going to post this part of my earlier message again, since you apparently missed it:

"Price gouging refers to when retailers and others take advantage of spikes in demand by charging exorbitant prices for necessities, often after a natural disaster or other state of emergency. Thirty-six states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia have statutes or regulations that defining price gouging during a time of disaster or emergency. In most states, price gouging is set as a violation of unfair or deceptive trade practices law. Most of these laws provide for civil penalties, as enforced by the state attorney general, while some state laws also enforce criminal penalties for price gouging violations."

In case you'd like to read up on the subject in order to educate yourself on the factual meaning of the phrase, there are countless results from an internet search for "definition of price gouging:"

Here's just one:

Price Gouging Laws by State 

[patsweetbabu]

Greetings, all.

pburn, where did you find the definition of price gouging you posted? When I search for the term on eBay, that's not what I find. The policy I found here is somewhat related, but I don't see that it absolutely applies only to necessities.