14 big landlords used software to collude on rent prices, DC lawsuit says::Suit claims employees were told pricing outside the algorithm was “unacceptable.”

  • IHaveTwoCows@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    This is how all industries work. There is no free market competition in anything. Bakeries collude on bread prices. Chocolatiers collude on candy bar prices. Etc etc. This is what happens when government kneels to business lobbyists instead of regulating business.

    • db2@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

      Gas prices. If price fixing is illegal then why is every single station the exact same price?

      • teegus@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        To be fair, in perfect competition prices for a homogenous product would be the same everywhere.

        But the reason for it in reality is that tacit collusion is not illegal (and even if they break the rules and make deals, which happens, it is hard to prove. but you don’t need explicit deals for prices to end up being the same). there has been many studies done on the gas market in partucular.

      • psycho_driver@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Costco and Sams have a never-ending gas price battle going on where I live and their gas prices are always 15-20% less than any other place in town. $3.39/gl at all stations except for those two and they’re $2.99/gl right now. It’s been this way for years.

        • IHaveTwoCows@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          The part I like is when people burn their savings with their car running while waiting in line to fuel up. Costco and Safeway have great gas prices but holy cow their customers are morons

          • Mango@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Starting your car is with 7 seconds of idling, and this somehow magically applies to motors of any displacement or intake type! If you’re gonna sit for more than 7 seconds, shutting your car off is the economical choice.