@bigkid posted:Price gouging as a term generally implies to things you need to live. A gas station when there is a natural disaster charging 10 bucks a gallon is going to be charged with price gouging. A good store that charges 5 bucks for an apple when it usually sells for 2 bucks a pound when there is an emergency would also be charged. Unless a price is regulated (ie there is a price cap), you can charge what you want for non critical goods (and that of course becomes problematic; food, water, fuel is pretty easy, but is a snow shovel when a blizzard is coming critical enough?). I doubt anyone would be charged with price gouging for an o gauge locomotive or something.
Yes, and on the other hand, price gouging can be seen as a market indicator. Some argue that it should NOT be punished.
For example, after a hurricane building contractors, particularly framers and roofers, are in high demand. If they were able to charge higher prices the people that could afford that price would pay it. However, contractors and roofers from neighboring areas can also be notified of those high prices and temporarily move their business to those places that need it. This increases competition and the prices will begin to fall again.
There still needs to be regulation of this behavior somewhat, for example you don't want contractors that moved temporarily to welch on the contracts they've signed and are currently building just because the merry-go-round of work has slowed.
Anyway, price "gouging" is not all bad, nor the evil that some make it out to be.
