It was October of 2018 when I wrote this post on price gouging and it got me thinking back to it because...
My wife just returned from Target for a quick errand and to return a shirt for a different size that my buddy had gotten me for my birthday. She couldn't help but notice the lack of inventory. Empty shelves, no hand sanitizer, no toilet paper, no lysol spray or wipes. Essentially all the cleaning materials were gone. Which is a HUGE issue when people who ACTUALLY NEED THEM, now cannot get them.
When the price remains low in times of hysteria, like the times we are in right now, people have no problem stocking up. They buy way more than they need, diminishing the supply for everyone else.
So how does price gouging play as a beneficial actor in all of this?
Well simple supply and demand comes into play. When a lot of people want certain items, like toilet paper and cleaning items, the price must increase. This stops, or at least helps, curb how many people go out and buy these items, along with HOW MUCH they buy. When toilet paper goes from 12 bucks for 24 rolls to 30 bucks for the same amount, people buy less.
The negative (individual wise) of course is that you are paying a premium for something that usually is pretty cheap (maybe you should have been a better Autumn chipmunk). On the flip side (for the business owner and everyone else), there are no inventory concerns. Everyone can usually get what they need, albeit at an inflated price.
Heed this scenario for the future. If you want to stock up on things, do so when times are calm and easy. Not when there is a "pandemic" happening. Lastly, understand economic conditions are not ones to be persuaded by political speak. The free market is intended to work as it does, tying to fix things in it only makes things worse.
Thanks for reading and I hope you have all the essentials you need for the near future. Best of health, peace.