The problem with such laws is that they are something like trying to outlaw gravity.
If you force the price to be lower than the demand, you create a shortage (and usually a black market, if that term is still allowed). There is no way around it. A few early buyers get lucky, everyone else gets nothing, regardless of what their needs are. If stores had been allowed to charge $10/roll for toilet paper in April, we would not have had shortages, and the price would have then self-adjusted to the true demand. Allan Dan Penoff via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> writes: > I could see that. > > Understand that Florida has very strict laws about price gouging by retailers > (!) and they pursue them aggressively. Not sure that they have any sway over > private sales, they might. I just haven’t paid that much attention. > > -D > >> On Jul 31, 2020, at 1:53 PM, Allan Streib via Mercedes >> <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >> >> Mitch Haley via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> writes: >> >>> Anyway, let's assume you have 40 units in stock and 400 people want them, >>> right now, today. What's the best way to allocate them? >>> >>> 1. Sell them in the next hour to the first 40 people who lay down the money. >>> 2. Have a lottery. >>> 3. Raise the price until only 40 people need them that badly. >>> >>> 1.5 Attempt to do method #1, and get bought out by the first 5 >>> hoarders/resellers. >> >> I suppose you could auction them off. Best of both worlds, in >> theory. You get a price that recognizes the demand, but you're not >> "gouging" since the bidders are the ones raising the price. >> >> Allan >> _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
