This is one of the topics I brought up in another thread that I can no longer see. And even if I could, what's the point in debating anything in a section so deeply buried. Now I don't really see any difference between having a monopoly or there just being collusion between businesses making the same sort of product. The end result is you paying more, dislike it or REALLY dislike it. It doesn't matter. One example I would like to bring up is when in 1925, light bulb manufacturers from North America and Europe formed The Phoebus Cartel. Before then, the lifespan of the average light bulb was 2500 hours. They drove that down to 1200 hours. It also gave them the ability to raise prices without fear of competition.
Next, I am a cigarette smoker who can't afford to buy cigarettes sold in stores. I have to roll my own. Which takes around an hour each day to do. An hour that I don't have time to spare. But I am forced to anyway. The cheapest I can buy a pack of store bought cigarettes is for around $6.40 per pack. And that is just one place. They are a couple bucks more per pack anyplace else. If I could stand smoking them, I could buy a pack of mini cigars for $1.17 per pack. They are filtered and the same size as cigarettes. But here's an interesting thing about that. They are WAY more expensive to make than regular cigarettes. Because they are tightly packed, the mini cigars hole about 3 times the tobacco than a regular cigarette does. That makes them more expensive to make. The tobacco used in mini cigars also has to be processed differently than the cigarette tobacco does. One of the things they do is age the tobacco used in mini cigars. Which could take months to years. That again makes them more expensive to make than regular cigarettes.
So with mini cigars going for $1.17 per pack, why in the hell am I paying $6.40 per pack for cigarettes that are cheaper to make to begin with! If the makers of mini cigars can sell them for $1.17 per pack and still make a profit, they should be able to sell cigarettes for around .80 cents per pack and still make a profit. With different companies being involved, I couldn't call it a monopoly. But there must be a shitload of collusion going on between cigarette manufacturers for that sort of gouging to be happening. And with this being the way that companies can act, I doubt if there are very many products at all that don't have the same sort of price gouging going on. And the thing on most people's minds is inflation. HA! Sure, inflation is a problem. But with that sort of thing going on, it is far from the only problem when it comes to buying products.
Next, I am a cigarette smoker who can't afford to buy cigarettes sold in stores. I have to roll my own. Which takes around an hour each day to do. An hour that I don't have time to spare. But I am forced to anyway. The cheapest I can buy a pack of store bought cigarettes is for around $6.40 per pack. And that is just one place. They are a couple bucks more per pack anyplace else. If I could stand smoking them, I could buy a pack of mini cigars for $1.17 per pack. They are filtered and the same size as cigarettes. But here's an interesting thing about that. They are WAY more expensive to make than regular cigarettes. Because they are tightly packed, the mini cigars hole about 3 times the tobacco than a regular cigarette does. That makes them more expensive to make. The tobacco used in mini cigars also has to be processed differently than the cigarette tobacco does. One of the things they do is age the tobacco used in mini cigars. Which could take months to years. That again makes them more expensive to make than regular cigarettes.
So with mini cigars going for $1.17 per pack, why in the hell am I paying $6.40 per pack for cigarettes that are cheaper to make to begin with! If the makers of mini cigars can sell them for $1.17 per pack and still make a profit, they should be able to sell cigarettes for around .80 cents per pack and still make a profit. With different companies being involved, I couldn't call it a monopoly. But there must be a shitload of collusion going on between cigarette manufacturers for that sort of gouging to be happening. And with this being the way that companies can act, I doubt if there are very many products at all that don't have the same sort of price gouging going on. And the thing on most people's minds is inflation. HA! Sure, inflation is a problem. But with that sort of thing going on, it is far from the only problem when it comes to buying products.
