Then in August, Modern Farmer reported that New York Attorney General Letitia James was suing egg producer Hillandale Farms for allegedly gouging its prices during the pandemic.
“The lawsuit alleges that Hillandale has raised its prices not because of increased costs, but simply to take advantage of higher consumer demand during the pandemic,” said a press release announcing the lawsuit.
This being how a market economic system works…..
You know the form; put up your prices and you’re gouging; drop them below the competition and you’re dumping; charge much the same as everyone else and it’s a cartel.
Letitia James is on Biden’s shortlist for Supreme Court nominations.
Local anecdatum: guy who sells eggs and other produce from his allotment on Saturday mornings put his price up to £1.20/six at end of March. Supermarket shelves empty, I paid the higher price for a while. Fast forward to now, and his onions and tomatoes are cheaper than last year – I’m guessing a great many made idle by this pandemic in March decided to have a crack at growing their own.
allegedly gouging its prices
Isn’t it the consumer that’s supposed to get gouged, not the price?
@ Bongo
Yes. Not simple greed – thoughtful as he didn’t want to disappoint his regular customers by selling out before most of them turned up expecting to buy their weekly supply. His expectation of the marginal customer determines the price. Friday my wife and I walked over to the market in the next town to buy our fruit and veg and just before I went into the stall she asked me to buy some black grapes so I added a pack to my basket just before going to pay: the guy weighed them and said “those grapes are £6.80?” – obviously he was concerned that I might not want to pay that much as they cost more than half as much as my average weekly spend. Of course I can afford it but that was his conditioned reflex. The decent stallholder survives because he knows that his business depends on the mutual interests of himself and his customers.