Price Fixing

A practice whereby all competitors in an industry agree to charge the same price for their competing products. Price fixing deprives consumers of the fair market price for the products because the fixers can simply raise and lower prices at will. Most economists (with objectivists being a major exception) believe price fixing to be anti-competitive, thus they oppose it. In the United States, price fixing is illegal under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. See also: Monopoly, Duopoly.

price fixing

the establishment of a common PRICE for a good or service by a group of suppliers acting together, as opposed to each supplier setting his own price independently. Price fixing is often a feature of an unregulated OLIGOPOLY market. See ANTICOMPETITIVE PRACTICE, RESTRICTIVE TRADE AGREEMENT, COLLUSION, CARTEL, ADMINISTERED PRICE.

price fixing

An agreement among competitors to charge roughly the same price as each other, denying consumers a meaningful choice in the marketplace. The practice is illegal under the Sherman Antitrust Act.In the real estate area,the most famous application of this principle has to do with real estate commissions and the complaint that local REALTOR® association members agreed to all charge the same rate. It is the reason for the disclaimer that appears on most real estate company form listing contracts and purchase contracts,“The commission is negotiated among the parties and is not set by... .“