Originally Posted by DanRealtor
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While many of you are griping about "Market Adjustments" or any other term to describe dealers selling cars for over MSRP, I haven't heard any of you insisting that dealers should have to stick to MSRP and not sell for less (including those of you giving opinions on what's best for DCX: 8>6...). I still don't understand why any or all of you consider this "Price Gouging". And, as staed previously, we are all able to wait or travel (or both) to get the car we want at the price we want, or not buy at all.
The term "Price Gouging" IMO is appropriate when used to describe merchants taking advantage of peole in times of disaster (Katrina...) for basic necessities (food, water, fuel, tp....) when the consumer really cannot do without or travel to get the items elsewhere. Under those conditions I believe it is appropriate for the government to intervene. When describing the pricing strategies of dealers I don't think the term is appropriate.
Dan
Well, I might be an odd individual, but when I go to a dealership, I am ready to buy at MSRP (but
not one cent more). So, if you ask me personally, I believe it would be fair for a dealer to stick to MSRP and I would respect that .
While I completely agree on your definition of price gouging related for example to natural disasters like Katrina, I am not sure I agree that the definition of price gouging should be limited at that.
Take for example the rise in gasoline prices during those weeks: the main motivation behind that was supposed to be the possible shortages of fuel in the US. That never happened, but people still had to bear the grunt of that.
Now if people need to travel (for example for their jobs), they can always take public transportation, try to car pool, etc. etc., they are
not obliged to use their private vehicles, right ? Sure. But does it make it right when Exxon and other mega corporations posted record profits for 2005's 4th quarter while millions of Americans have been burdened with a great increase in their expenses for traveling and heating their homes ? They made their super profits at the expense of every poor bast.ard in the country, while there was nothing, no reason at all that was warranting such an increase. Now this in my book is price gouging, it might not have killed people, but for sure it made many more miserable than they were. And for what ? To make very few much much richer...To me this is just plain sad, it shouldn't have happened.
I understand that applying the definition "price gouging" to dealer's mark ups might seem a bit trivial compared to disasters like Katrina and other stuff like that, but at the source it's just the same, it just doesn't cost lives, it only costs a lot of aggravation.
