cinealta
Member
Don't have a dog in this fight, just a musician with no affiliation to Fractal. But just to play devil's advocate, it's pretty normal in microeconomic theory to allow supply and demand set consumer pricing curves for any commodity (wheat, oil, electronics, RAM memory etc). This is evident in oil prices going up (hence gasoline) when there is a supply-side shock (shortage) etc.
Similarly, when there is an increased demand (eg Axe Fx II), price naturally increases until there is a stable steady-state equilibrium. There is an opportunity cost to letting electronics sit on shelves etc (takes up storage space etc, loss of interest earned on profits etc) therefore non-selling items are discounted. Conversely, when demand is so great that even just in time inventory cannot satisfy the marketplace (human labor capital approaches upper limit of production capacity despite efficient supply chain management), manufacturers can exact a premium (price increase) for their products.
IMO this is not "price gouging" because an Axe Fx is not a necessary commodity (eg a hotel room, water, gasoline, flour etc) but a luxury audio item. I'm sure Apple, Neumann, Neve, Dumble etc charge a premium over cost of goods for their products.
What do ya'll think?
Similarly, when there is an increased demand (eg Axe Fx II), price naturally increases until there is a stable steady-state equilibrium. There is an opportunity cost to letting electronics sit on shelves etc (takes up storage space etc, loss of interest earned on profits etc) therefore non-selling items are discounted. Conversely, when demand is so great that even just in time inventory cannot satisfy the marketplace (human labor capital approaches upper limit of production capacity despite efficient supply chain management), manufacturers can exact a premium (price increase) for their products.
IMO this is not "price gouging" because an Axe Fx is not a necessary commodity (eg a hotel room, water, gasoline, flour etc) but a luxury audio item. I'm sure Apple, Neumann, Neve, Dumble etc charge a premium over cost of goods for their products.
What do ya'll think?