Hurricane Harvey

That is very true today with all the electronic scanning/billing. Remember the days when they placed individual price tags on everything? It may have costed more to go back and re-price everything than just leave it at the old price until sold. But I do remember seeing clerks doing just that as well as seeing groceries with different prices on them depending on which lot they were bought under. Prices on X are going up, buy some extra at the lower price while you can! When I moved to MA around 17 years ago, they still were individually marking products by law. I was astounded it was still being done. That has since changed.

They’ll raise the price when they get the price changes from the warehouse. Unlike gas where the prices were raised immediately - like the day after.

I’ll hunker down on the Gulf side unless it shifts this way, then I’ll be headed to a friend’s home in Vero Beach.

Got gas, water, food, propane and hurricane hardened windows and doors. It will be my first hurricane.

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Mike, you seem to think the price of an item depends on when the ‘warehouse’ gets new, more expensive (or cheaper) stock. This is incorrect. Some stores may operate that way out of habit, but it’s not how prices in a free market economy are set. For example, the furniture store near me (Nebraska Furniture Mart) has electronic price indicators on all their items. These prices can change daily based on what their competitors charge, just like they do on Amazon, etc. It has nothing to do with what their inventory cost them:

I recently saw the inside of a surplus 2005 FEMA trailer from Katrina. We had a flood here and someone had loaned this to a guy who lost is house in that flood. It was a pretty basic little unit but I thought it was pretty nice for what it was. The owner was selling it for $1500 at the time which seemed like a steal. He just left it at the guy’s property until it sold and it didn’t stay around too long.

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For most of the people in the world that FEMA trailer looks like a castle.

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God I wish I could block people here so I didn’t have to read this kind of crap.

Those FEMA trailers were not well-built, and those who lived in them were exposed to Formaldehyde.

Have you ever tried living in an RV long-term? I have, and trust me, things start falling apart from normal everyday use, and that’s without children living there. RVs need near constant maintenance or they fall apart. Owning one is like owning a boat or a pool, something is always breaking.

That trailer for $1500 is a good deal. It’s plain but you could add what you wanted to it. New ones are probably more than 15 times the price. I agree, RVs and trailers are all built poorly with cheap materials.

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Good luck @Mustangman I’m 1500 miles north and glad of it. All we have to contend with is tornadoes and blizzards.

Bottom line is businesses can charge what they want when they want, unless its in the middle of a disaster. Its those nasty greedy corporations again filling the tanks and loading the shelves so we have something to buy when we want or need it. Pretty good system actually with a few buggeroos.

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I’ve stated MANY times…The prices of other commodities don’t change like GAS when there are natural disasters…You’ve showed me NOTHING that says different. I know you think you have.

Says who?

This is so typical of you…you keep changing the argument.

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You going to lecture me on how digital commerce works? I’ve forgotten more about computers and software then you’ve ever known in your whole life. This is what I’ve been doing for a living for the past 40+ years. Early in my career I’ve actually built and designed these systems.

But they have absolutely NOTHING to do with what I’ve said. But keep your Straw man argument going. It’s nice to watch the master at work.

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The price of a commodity in a free market is subject to the laws of supply and demand. In a free market, these laws are like laws of nature, you can try to control them, but they exert influence whether you think they are or not, like Newton’s law of universal gravitation.

http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/commodityprices.asp

Of course it’s supply and demand…if fact that actually proves my point - which I’ve stated several different ways.

When Harvey hit - gas prices AT THE PUMP went up within 48 hours. There’s absolutely now way in hell Harvey could have effected the SUPPLY all over the country in that short of time…Sorry - IMPOSSIBLE.

You don’t think the loss of refining capacity changes the supply curve? That curve represents the amounts sellers are willing to sell at various prices.

Don’t you also think Hurricane Harvey altered the demand curve? That demand curve represents the amount consumers are willing to buy at various prices.

When the supply decreases, the supply curve shifts the left, and when demand increases, it shifts to the right. This might help: https://youtu.be/huNb3syWs0A

Of course it will. never said otherwise. What I’ve maintained all along is it takes time to effect supply. Gas prices were up long long before supply was effected…especially in places like the North East where it’ takes week for the gas from the refineries to even reach us.

You’re conflating the actual supply with the supply curve. They are not the same thing. The supply curve is not necessarily always based on the actual supply. Like I wrote, THE SUPPLY CURVE REPRESENTS THE AMOUNT THE SUPPLIER IS WILLING TO SELL AT VARIOUS PRICES.

Shifts in the supply curve (NOT THE ACTUAL SUPPLY) can happen instantly, and often do.

We don’t have a free market economy. The economy is quite expensive and those who can afford to buy a piece of it are able to become $billionaires. Just look around.

That quote of yours is the problem, Mike. It’s wrong. I’ve explained why a dozen ways, doesn’t matter to you. I’m done.

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So based on your assumption then…gas companies are just greedy jerks.

You and Texas want to get into the HOW AND WHY it’s happening - which has NOTHING to do with anything I’ve said. I don’t care about the how and why…doesn’t matter.

All I’ve said is that OTHER commodities OR products that have disasters like that - prices don’t go up that fast…not even close. WEEKS…or MONTHS…Not overnight.

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Anyone remember when one of the 3 plants that produce engine coolant was destroyed in a fire some 20+ years ago? I do. Prices started to go up slowly about a month after. I guess they weren’t as greedy.