The Sanford-based Pantry chain of convenience stores is suing its competitors for predatory pricing, claiming that they are selling gasoline below cost.
The argument is silly, of course. The only consumer harm there could be theoretically from ?artificially? low gas prices is that the company offering them could gain enough market power, by muscling out competitors, that it would then able to jack up the price on powerless consumers. If such a strategy had ever actually succeeded on a large scale in the U.S., or anywhere else, we?d know about it. In reality, the cost of entering the market must not be exorbitant, which allowed the ?predatory pricer? into the mix in the first place, so a subsequent price hike would induce other competitors in, thus driving it back down. Consumers win from price wars. Kinda obvious.
Here?s a great quote from a customer about the Pantry lawsuit:
Raleigh resident Billy Staton said he looks for the cheapest gas and has found it at Sheetz. The 63-year-old retired mechanic said he thinks the law limiting what gas stations can charge should be lifted.
“If I was running a station, I would sell it for what I wanted to sell it for,” Staton said. “If you own a station and want to sell it cheaper, that’s your problem.”
