The profiteers have struck Squeezebox Touch $750

Yeah I saw that and checked Amazon going for the same prices there totally amazing. I have a Duet and love it but if it ever dies I guess I will look elsewhere. Sonos maybe? Pretty crazy though it's not like the Touch was a collectors item or anything. What was retail like $300? Ridiculous.

Simple supply and demand.

"Simple supply and demand."
that's what they said after katrina and sandy when they charged $10 for gas.

Well, I don't pretend to understand the economics of the gas situation after Katrina, but I do know that they've quit making the Squeezebox and that a lot of people still want it. Plus, I don't think there will be a public outcry over retailers charging $750 for a Squeezebox. It's not exactly a necessity.

They will always charge as much as YOU will pay.
Cheers

01-19-13: Swampwalker
"Simple supply and demand."
that's what they said after katrina and sandy when they charged $10 for gas.
Swampwalker (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

I like option in getting rather than NO supplies at all even at a higher price.

You should have seen the gouging after Hurricane Andrew. Hundreds of small time entrepreneurs along US 1 ready to help their fellow man for a fat price. Of course news reports said local politicians were outraged over this conduct, the same politicians that had been stealing everything they could stuff into their pockets and bank accounts for years.

I have no problems with incentive in helping is purely financial. With no easy access to the victims, entrepreneurs can make an extra buck getting supplies to them. If I had no water, I want the opportunity to pay $5 for a bottle of water or go thirsty or die.

Of course gov wants to PROTECT us so ban over charging and victims have no access to any supplies at any cost. Another unintended consequence of BIG gov which is not surprising.

I guess you can always wait for FEMA but I'm afraid you will probably be dead before they get to you.

It's a question of morals. High end audio probably no different than any other retail category; lots of snake oil salesmen and profiteers as well as some really good guys. Just because it's legal doesn't make it right.

If my Squeezebox went down I would feel lucky to be able to get another. If there is another product that provides the same quality and convenience that the Squeezebox Touch does, at any price, I'd like to know.

I live near refineries and in the home town of Chevron yet I pay more for gasoline than people pay thousands of miles away. Our Countries freedom allows most manufactures to charge, "what the market will bare." It seems the current majority in Congress feel people should pay big oil subsidies regardless of their yearly record profits. At least the paper towels are free.

01-20-13: Swampwalker
It's a question of morals. High end audio probably no different than any other retail category; lots of snake oil salesmen and profiteers as well as some really good guys. Just because it's legal doesn't make it right.
Swampwalker (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

That's RIDICULOUS! What is so immoral for an individual or company to make a profit and setting the price based on supply and demand market conditions. No one is forcing you to buy it. What's immoral is gov forcing citizens to purchase goods such as health care otherwise having to pay a penalty.

I hate to break this to you. Lower profits, lower tax revenues so the 47%+ will have to get off gov dough and back to work or they could burn the country down like in Europe (Greece, Spain, Ireland, France ...) when benefits are cut.

There is a big difference between taking advantage of people in need of indispensible basic commodities in times of crisis, and selling a piece of electronics at market prices in my opinion.

Edorr- You are correct, but I still think it's unethical. Knghifi- I sincerely hope that your 88 y.o. father never needs needs a medication that costs about $200/day to stay alive, which is not covered by either your private insurance (if you are lucky enough to have it) or big bad medicare. Unless that day occurs, you will never know the evils of an unrestrained "free market". BTW, I've never heard anyone who rails against a government mandate for health care complain about his or her parents being "forced" to buy medicare.

Interestingly, the foes of gov't intervention in the marketplace never seem to have a problem with the benefits that they themselves utilize (think interstate highway system, huge tax incentives for oil and natural gas production, etc). Maybe we should go back to the days when instead of big brother forcing you to pay taxes, you could buy a membership in the local private fire department. If not, they would protect your neighbor's house from embers, while watching yours burn to the ground. Ah, those were the good old days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And as far as FEMA goes, also interesting how the Representative who killed a chunk of the aid to the Northeast to repair damage from Sandy was from Louisiana, which got every penny they asked for to rebuild from Katrina. Sandy state (CT, NY, and NJ) residents paid $1.9 TRILLION dollars more in federal taxes from 1999 - 2009 than they received from " big gov't"; while the Gulf States received $645 BILLIOM more from "big gov't" than they paid in taxes. Maybe Lincoln was wrong, we should have let them secede! OK rant over, sorry to confuse you w the facts.

BTW,the figures on federal spending vs. taxes by state are from The Economist, a highly respected British (no American political bias) weekly, and can be accessed here.

Wow. Good thing we're still on topic here.

While The Economist may be a UK publication, it does (IMO) lean left.

Regarding an 88 yo getting meds costing $200/day, you are correct, not a chance that Obamacare (or Medicare for that matter) will not cover that!

We don't have a red or blue problem in the country, it is the color grey of an aging population and that's where the problem lies. Most, if not all, politicians know this but none will tackle it as the unfunded liability of Medicare make the 16 Trillion we have already racked up look like peanuts. Both parties are to blame for this and the longer we wait to address it, the worse the medicine will be when we are forced to take it.

Just my 2 cents..........now back to what is a real / correct / fair market price for a Touch!

I don't know anything about what the Squeezebox Touch does, what competitors it has and what the going price for the Touch or any competitor was before this new price.

That said, if the current price is ridiculously high, someone else will make a similar product and undercut these sellers on price. If the price is not ridiculously high, be happy that you bought your bargain when you did - you made out like a bandit.

As an aside, Vicdamone said:

I live near refineries and in the home town of Chevron yet I pay more for gasoline than people pay thousands of miles away.

Gasoline prices are influenced by a number of factors other than transportation costs from refinery to gas station, such as different costs of crude (depending on where it comes from), state gasoline taxes and costs of refining to different environmental standards. If Vic lives near the Chevron refinery in El Segundo, California, the gas he buys would be subject to all three factors.

Nwavesailer- Sorry if I was unclear. Medicare Part D (which is optional) only covers a very small part of the my Dad's medication expense; after about a month he goes into the "donut hole" and none of it is covered until he pays thousands out of pocket and then once he's out of the hole, it's covered (but again for only a percentage). It cost him thousands of dollars a year for this one medication alone.

Thanks for the clarification, Swampwalker!

Edorr said: There is a big difference between taking advantage of people in need of indispensable basic commodities in times of crisis, and selling a piece of electronics at market prices.

spot on!

i love free markets and strongly believe in them. i don't think they work 100% of the time. healthcare is a great example. until we figure this out (like most of the free industrialized world has), we're gonna go broke as a country (while the healthcare industry continues to makes a killing).

when people have no choice in buying something (like getting medical attention when sick), the "free markets" provide a license to gouge and/or kill. you can be fore or against this.....but don't kid yourself as to what's really going on.

healthcare is in fact the single biggest root cause of our "budgetary/spending problems in the US". 5-10% annual increases in costs can not be sustained long term by any country regardless of wealth. this fact has been clubbing us in the head for decades but we still try to avoid it. go ahead and debate the solution(s). the problem itself is obvious and irrefutable.

Wow how did we get from Squeezeboxes to health care? Quite a leap in a not very fun direction. Said as I sit here in good health listening to my Squeezebox. A Duet mind you not a Touch.

Doug, I have a home in Danville just down up the street from Chevron San Ramon. The price of fuel varies dramatically within the state of California. People living in the urban areas close to the Richmond refineries pay more than rural areas. The variables you mention are not what affect State wide pricing the oil companies do.

As I said it's what the particular market will bare.

When it comes to gas, it's not supple and demand that determines the price of a gallon of gas. Supply exceeds demand. Our number one export is oil. It will be for the foreseeable future.

Here is why prices don't correlate to the misused supply and demand meme:
http://money.howstuffworks.com/oil-speculation-raise-gas-price.htm

As for the OPs mention, I find it laughable but there's always a sucker.

All the best,
Nonoise

Damn profiteers selling their Sansui TU-X1's and Kenwood L-02T's above their original retail prices!

although some greed-crazed dorks were listing the sbt on ebay for as much as $1850(!), actual sales ranged from $320 (used) to $450 (new), which seems relatively sane. it's a free market, i know, but it offends me nonetheless when sellers egregiously overprice their gear--sorta takes the fun out of the process.