[arin-ppml] Will the price per IP really be affected bythetransfer market introduced in 2009-1?

[Kevin Kargel]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stephen Sprunk [mailto:stephen at sprunk.org]
> Sent: Friday, May 15, 2009 10:54 AM
> To: Kevin Kargel; ARIN PPML
> Subject: Re: [arin-ppml] Will the price per IP really be affected
> bythetransfer market introduced in 2009-1?
> 
> Kevin Kargel wrote:
> >> And it also turns out that agreeing ahead of time how we'll all set
> pricing is against the law.
> >>
> >
> > Yep, and that's why every gas station in town changes their price at the
> same hour of the same day to the same tenth of a cent.  But wait, that
> would be against the law..
> >
> 
> Price matching is legal; what is illegal is colluding in advance to set
> prices at a particular level.
> 
> In many states, it is illegal for gas stations to change their prices
> more than once per day.  So, what happens is that each morning in any
> given locale (here, it's at each major intersection where there will be
> 2-4 gas stations on the corners) one manager will go out and put up his
> price for the day, and the other manager(s) will immediately respond by
> setting their price the same or one cent less.  That is perfectly legal;
> it may _look_ like collusion to an uninformed observer, but it isn't
> collusion if they don't meet ahead of time to discuss what they're going
> to do, only respond to each others' public actions.

Ah, but if you watch they all change their prices at the same time.  How
does that happen if they don't discuss it "ahead of time".  I find it hard
to believe that at 2AM there are 200 managers driving around town to check
200 gas stations so they can set their prices.  The price changes don't
ripple out, they toggle at the same time.

Besides, if everyone picks one station to set the standard and they all
agree "ahead of time" to match that station, isn't that the same collusion?


> 
> S
> 
> --
> Stephen Sprunk         "God does not play dice."  --Albert Einstein
> CCIE #3723         "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the
> K5SSS        dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking

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