Approve of price gouging? I'm not sure I even really understand what this means. I certainly want to get the lowest price I can, and am willing to spend time and energy to save a few hundred or thousand dollars. However, I simply don't believe price gouging is a "good" thing or a "bad" thing. I think that the market does a reasonable job in this case of finding a way to allocate who gets an item that is in limited supply and high demand. Price gouging exists, and I don't "approve" of it in that I don't think everyone should run out and buy for whatever the nearest dealer asks. I do "approve" of it in that I believe that the dealerships have every right to ask for whatever they want, and the consumer can decide whether or not to pay pay it. I thought I was most clear in my first post, where I said,

I'd be interested in what led you to believe that I "approve" of price gouging. I probably simply wasn't clear enough in what I wrote. Philosophically I'm fairly neutral towards it, but personally if I decide to get an RX-8 (or any other very high demand car), I will simply follow some of the steps I wrote above to get the best price I can. If by following the steps above I cannot get MSRP or below, then I believe that it should be my decision whether I want the car enough to pay the market price, or choose another car. I'm slightly "for" gouging in that I worry about the impact on the freedom of business to set prices if there is a rule against selling for above MSRP. I suspect that this may have a long term effect of raising MSRP on cars that will have a high demand. However, I am far too ignorant in the fields of economics and business to argue that point, so I concede it here if it is too controversial.

My main point in my first post was simply that people who get so worked up about paying over MSRP don't have to pay it. However, if they must be the first on the block, and they must buy from the absolute closest dealer, and they won't put down a deposit a year in advance guaranteeing them MSRP or below, then they don't have the right to whine about gouging.

To address some of your other points, I agree wholeheartedly that it's difficult to see when the government should intervene. I actually do believe that the gov. should intervene (regulate) more than it currently does, but this (IMHO) is very clearly a case where they shouldn't.

I think my feelings on this are clear from my past posts, but I'll address it directly. I agree that it's important that people have the knowledge to avoid it, but I don't see anything wrong with a wealthy lazy person writing a huge check to be the first guy on the block to get his RX-8. It sucks for me, but I'd rather take 15 minutes on the internet to find a dealer that doesn't gouge.

 

Thanks for clearing it up Rich. I agree. I was hoping I could start a revolution with my post, like the Boston Tea Party. We can all go to California and start tossing over priced cars into the ocean! Let us all go NOW! Seriously, I wanted to emphasize your point however that we do not have to pay the mark-up. I know plenty of people that do b/c they really think they have no choice. That is very sad. It's one thing if you are rich, and lazy to do the research, and another thing if you are a victim, and manipulated into believing this is your only option.

 

Hi everyone, I'm new here and this is my first post! (yay...)

Just a quick reply to Grimace's statement that gouging was illegal in Canada:

::huh?::

Ive seen prices higher than MSRP in dealerships (Mazda dealerships, no less), often with no justification, isn't that gouging? If so is it really illegal (ie I'm within my legal bounds to file a report about it?)




just wondering

 

Hi everyone, I'm new here and this is my first post! (yay...)

Just a quick reply to Grimace's statement that gouging was illegal in Canada:

::huh?::

Ive seen prices higher than MSRP in dealerships (Mazda dealerships, no less), often with no justification, isn't that gouging? If so is it really illegal (ie I'm within my legal bounds to file a report about it?)




just wondering

 

I am not absolutely positive, but I believe that charging over MSRP in Ontario is illegal.

My believe is based on:

1. I was told that this is true (bad example I admit)
2. My dealer is not charging me over MSRP for my RX-8 preorder ($500 deposit)
3. A coworker is not being charged over MSRP for his 350Z preorder ($1,500 deposit)

If I am not correct please jump in.

 

It basically goes with whatever the Ford plan is running. For instance I could not get an MP3 at the employee pricing, but I could have gotten a pretty good deal through a local dealership if I had wanted to purchase one. The company I work for has close to 100k employees worldwide (although that is down from 150k just a year ago) and I work at the HQ. The local businesses are pretty good to us. That said it will surely come down to availability. I will just have to wait it out and see. I am guessing that since the RX-8 is slated to be a higher production than a true limited edition I should be able to get some sort of deal. I am planning on contacting a local dealership just to get a feel for what is going to be offered to me. I'll post a new topic once I have some info from the fleet manager.