October 14, 2011

Parents Whine about Supply and Demand

It's a matter of life- and economics. When demand soars for a product, the supply will lower, and the price will go up. If the demand lowers for a product, supply will increase and the price, as a result of poor demand, may decrease to entice buyers. This is known as the supply-demand see saw.

Parents on Amazon.com are bitching about "price gougers" again this holiday season. They whine that they "cannot find a decently priced item" and become angry (and/or snobby) with a particular vendor. A vendor is in business to make money- not to satisfy every consumer's most beloved wishes. In capitalism, a good's price changes based on supply and demand.

This phenomena has no face. It does not care how much money you make, or whether you struggled through a recession or just paid thousands of dollars in medical bills. If you do not want to pay a particular price for "X", and it becomes unavailable at the price you want it to be at, you are SOL. If you do not want a free market economy, I recommend swinging over to communist China or North Korea where everything is cheap.

"impact on the consumer" is not a prime concern for any vendor in this market. Learn to deal with our market, or go somewhere else and buy. Bitch, whine and cry all you want- pay for the convenience of the availability, or find another toy.   Everyone seems to be attacking sellers for taking advantage of our supply and demand system; but it is the consumer that sets the price. An item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

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