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Car makers like Jaguar Land Rover and Peugeot have been accused of using special software to raise spare parts prices.
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2018/06/04/car-makers-used-software-to-raise-spare-parts-prices/
Ever had the nagging suspicion that your car's manufacturer was charging outrageous prices for parts simply because it could? Software might be to blame. Reuters has obtained documents from a lawsuit indicating that Jaguar Land Rover, Peugeot, Renault and other automakers have been using Accenture software (Partneo) that recommended price increases for spare parts based on "perceived value." If a brand badge or other component looked expensive, Partneo would suggest raising the price up to a level that drivers would still be willing to pay. It would even distinguish parts based on whether or not there was "pricing supervision" over certain parts (say, from insurance companies or focused publications) to avoid sparking an outcry.
(Score: 2) by digitalaudiorock on Tuesday June 05 2018, @06:02PM (7 children)
This reminds me a bit of how some websites won't give you prices without knowing where you are (zip code etc)...all of which can go fuck themselves as far as I'm concerned.
Apparently there are business that increasingly think the answer to "how much ya want?" it "how much ya got?". Fuck that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 05 2018, @06:21PM
Has anyone tested the different prices depending on zip code? Maybe compare San Francisco with Watts.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 05 2018, @06:21PM
Examples? The only pricing like that I've seen uses local labor costs as part of the pricing. It's less expensive to get a new room addition in Baton Rouge than Boston.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 05 2018, @08:35PM (3 children)
This is exactly how voluntary exchange is supposed to work.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 05 2018, @08:53PM (1 child)
It becomes a whole lot less "voluntary" when Tyson Foods Inc. teams up with Pepsico to make food prices insane. Ever head of "company towns"? You are so naive, it'd be cute if it wasn't so stupid.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 06 2018, @01:37AM
Do you have examples where this is a problem because I have traveled extensively and not seen it. Are you talking about places like Barrow, Alaska?
(Score: 2) by sjames on Friday June 08 2018, @01:38AM
Actually, no. In a capitalist system, competition is supposed to drive the asking price down to the marginal cost of production. It's the seller asking himself (how much less is the other seller asking).
In many cultures (and the U.S. used to be one of them), asking too much more than the cost of production is seen as shameful and the people who do so seen as morally compromised at best.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday June 06 2018, @03:04AM
That tradition goes back beyond the invention of money.
WalMart in rural locations will charge 2 and 3x the price for identical product as compared to their stores in competitive urban locations, knowing that the rural customers can't/won't afford to drive 50 miles round-trip to save a couple of bucks on an item they need quickly.
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