Best Buy Sorry for Price Gouging Water During Hurricane Harvey

TMZ ^ | 6-30=2017

[Snickering Hound]

One of the Best Buy stores in Houston offered Hurricane Harvey victims bottled water ... for a price, a very high one and now the company's apologizing.

The store was caught selling 12-packs of Smartwater for $29.98 and 24-packs of Dasani for a whopping $42.96. A photo of the display went viral this week, amid allegations of price gouging in the wake of the Harvey.

Best Buy now admits, "This was a big mistake on the part of a few employees at one store on Friday. As a company we are focused on helping, not hurting affected people. We’re sorry and it won’t happen again."

A rep for the retail tech giant added ... Best Buy doesn't normally sell water, and that the employees at this specific store were pricing the packs based on single bottle prices.

[Alberta's Child]

Here's my understanding of how it works:

1. By law, the hospital must treat patients regardless of their ability to pay.

2. In exchange for this requirement under the law, the state also exempts the hospital from the normal consumer protection statutes that would require every business establishment that meets the legal definition of a "public accommodation" to post its prices conspicuously.

So under your hypothetical scenario, your hospital would probably be violating one of these two laws.

I'm sure there would also be an issue related to professional licensing under the state's medical board. The doctor's conduct here might warrant a suspension of his medical license.

[RFEngineer]

“Does compassion ever enter into capitalism?”

Sure it does. If there were no laws against “gouging” there would quickly be plenty of water for people to buy. If you told me you were thirsty, I’d buy some for you.

[RFEngineer]

“Not in a disaster...It’s not market flow...It’s getting in supplies into people that are hurting regardless of WTF the market says. Market flow has zip to do with it.”

Market flow has everything to do with it. In fact, it’s the only thing that will reliably get supplies that people want to the people that need them.

If you want free, stand in line and wait for FEMA to give you something. It may not be what you want, it may not be what you need, but hey, it’s free, so why not stand in line for it?

[dragnet2]

Sure it does. If there were no laws against “gouging” there would quickly be plenty of water for people to buy. If you told me you were thirsty, I’d buy some for you.

I can just see that, as you're floating down the freeway on top of your car you can ask the family next to you who are clinging onto debris if you could buy them some bottle water.

[Leaning Right]

> It’s illegal because he would be violating a contract. <

Interesting. I hadn’t thought of that. So permit me to make one more adjustment to my hypothetical. Then I’ll quit (I promise.)

Suppose that this doctor is part of a practice that no longer accepts any insurance. That is a growing trend. Cash for services provided. Prices may change without notice.

Can this doctor charge a huge sum of money in an emergency situation? $100,000 to set a broken arm of a child in pain?

Don’t answer that...answer this instead please. The distraught father agrees to pay. The arm is set. Then, later, the father stops paying the doctor after, say, $1000 is paid. So the doctor sues the father. You are the judge.

How do you rule? Supply and demand...or price gouging?

(As I said, I’m stopping here. This was an interesting - and civil -conversation. Thanks.)

[RFEngineer]

“Don’t be a jerk. Hope that doesn’t sound too condescending.”

Here is condescending for you: You are the jerk, and you don’t even realize it.

I’m nice enough to break it to you gently.

[jonrick46]

"Somebody’s gonna lose their job."

The lost of job is not all that will happen. Best Buy can say "sorry" until the cows come home. The job terminations will not save them either. They will be fined up to $20,000 per occurrence and up to $250,000 per occurrence against someone age 65 and older. Selling 200 cases of bottled water could cost Best Buy $5 million. And, Best Buy better not tamper with those receipts.

[dragnet2]

Bull sh*t.

Tell me, why does the U.S. have no issues at all giving away hundreds of billions in food, material, treasure, etc to other non-American countries who are allegedly in need, but during a disaster here in the U.S., it’s all about how much money ya got?

How’s that work Mr. Engineer?

[dfwgator]

Market flow has everything to do with it. In fact, it’s the only thing that will reliably get supplies that people want to the people that need them.

Exactly. Most people will just sit on their butt and not do anything. But it's the profit motive that in the end will motivate people to bring the supplies.

That's just the way it is. In general, very few people are purely altruistic, and you sure wouldn't want to rely on altruism alone in a crunch.

[RFEngineer]

“I can just see that, as you’re floating down the freeway on top of your car you can ask the family next to you who are clinging onto debris if you could buy them some bottle water.”

You socialists can never come up with realistic scenarios.

[dragnet2]

Tell me, why does the U.S. have no issues at all giving away hundreds of billions in food, material, treasure, etc to other non-American countries who are allegedly in need, but during a disaster here in the U.S., it’s all about how much money ya got?

How’s that work Mr. Engineer?

[Leaning Right]

> So under your hypothetical scenario, your hospital would probably be violating one of these two laws. <

Good point. But see my post #85. What do you think?

[RFEngineer]

“How’s that work Mr. Engineer?”

Again, you simply cannot come up with a realistic scenario all because you are mad that someone won’t give you a free bottle of water.

[miss marmelstein]

Oh, please. You live in some theoritical world without the self-knowledge to know that you wouldn't have the courage to sell goods to stricken people at exhoribant prices. You just like it when other people do it. In other words, you're just another freeper with a keyboard.

[gdani]

If there is a limited supply of water, and if you charge the regular price, someone will come in, buy it all, and then go out an gouge.

Or, they could simply say "limit one per customer"

But, in this case, Best Buy wants to be the gouger.

[dragnet2]

Tell me, why does the U.S. have no issues at all giving away hundreds of billions in food, material, treasure, etc to other non-American countries who are allegedly in need, but during a disaster here in the U.S., it’s all about how much money ya got?

Why are you evading the question?

[jonrick46]

Sam's Club: 40 half liter bottles, $3.98 (online)

[Alberta's Child]

In a situation like that, the judge would surely dismiss the case and the doctor would be out of luck.

There is a legal principle that considers a contract non-binding and basically null and void if one party enters it under duress. The example you gave would meet the definition of such a contract that was made under "duress to the person."

[fhayek]

You are mixing things here. I don't advocate giving American money to foreign countries like we have done (and for much the same reason).

For decades, the old Soviet Union maintained that the price of basic foodstuffs should not be above a certain level. Food is something that you need every day, natural disaster or not. And guess what? They always had shortages. Same principle is at work.

[Taggart_D]

I wish Milton Friedman were still alive. He would have reminded the mob that the free market is better at ensuring fresh bottled water arrive on the scene faster than someone's good intentions. And, I'm really tired of people acting all concerned about the price hurricane victims have to pay for water, when those same people feel no obligation to package a clean bottle of water and get it down to the victims that need it.

I usually find that people pointing fingers at such things are just trying to make themselves look magnanimous.

Yes, I am a CAPITALIST PIG!