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lotsofpulpyesterday at 6:48 PM3 repliesview on HN

Buyers and sellers should be able to negotiate prices however they want. It is how markets have worked since the dawn of human trading.

It would also be costly to police.

If the problem is that a grocery store has a monopoly in an area, then that is a different problem fixed by adding grocery store(s).


Replies

fc417fc802yesterday at 10:02 PM

Most markets have also had a wide variety of regulations. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that large retail operations would be prohibited from attempting a predatory scheme depending on individualized pricing. There's a tangible difference between one off purchase contracts and selling into the consumer market at large.

Sure, haggling was historically the standard but that just isn't the way these modern operations work. If an outdated practice gets caught in the crossfire when protecting consumers from imminent harm I'm okay with that.

slgyesterday at 6:52 PM

This is a law about grocery stores. How much haggling do you think is happening at grocery stores?

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sidewndr46yesterday at 7:15 PM

Most pricing laws are built on the idea that this isn't OK. For example, I can't negotiate pricing directly with an automobile manufacturer. I have to go through a dealer so I am "protected".

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