When we buy a car, we have a competitive market giving a large choice of car models. After buying the car, we have to approach the manufacturer for certain special parts, e.g. a replacement electronic key. The manufacturer does not allow other people to provide the key.
What is a fair price to pay for the car? Is it $30, $300 or $3,000? A non-electronic key can be made at a cost of $10. An electronic key is more expensive, but is $300 or $3,000 fair? If some manufacturer can make an electronic key for $150, should another menufacturer charge $300 or $1,000?
Is there any party responsible to address complaints of consumers?
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Is this really a question about monopoly?
ReplyDeleteIf so, then this is clearly not monopolistic.
The car buyer in question has the option of not purchasing that car in the first place.
I've read of people buying professional cameras complaining about high cost of additional batteries. Same thing, those buyers have the option of not purchasing that brand in the first place.
Please step back and look at the larger picture.
Most often people dig themselves into situations where options are no longer available to them. They should have made the choice much eariler when they can.
It is easy to say that the choice should be made much earlier. But how many consumers know how to do the required research?
ReplyDeleteMany portable electronic gadgets like cameras, laptops, mobile phones are designed in such a way by their manufacturers to be monopolistic in nature. For example, they can all be designed to work on conventional batteries like the AA, AAA, C or D size batteries but the manufacturers prefer to manufacture their own specific batteries so they can charge a high premium for it since no other companies sell those kind of special batteries. Some manufacturers also designed their gadgets such that it has a MTBF of just slightly one year and they issue a guarantee for one year. For example, the D.C. socket is designed to rest on the motherboard so that after frequent use, plugging in and plugging out, it fails and it costs several hundreds of dollars to replace since it involves the multilayer motherboard instead of a simple socket which costs less than a dollar. So manufacturers surreptiously designed their products such that it generates them extra profits when their customers are forced to service their products with them. Customers do not always know what is happening and so it is unfair to say that they should know better since they are not experts or engineers.
ReplyDeleteWithout honesty there can be no fair dealing.
ReplyDeleteIn financial products you need another element , COMPETENCE, to go with honesty , without both there will also be no fair dealing.