CD Arbitrage Slapped Down In The UK
from the higher-prices-for-everyone! dept
Because, apparently, fair market values for CDs are just too inexpensive for UK and Irish customers, the recording industry in the UK has slapped down an online company that dared to sell cheaper CDs they ordered from overseas. This is part of the same investigation of Amazon we mentioned a couple of weeks ago - though Amazon still hasn't caved in on the issue. Once again, I don't see how this sort of protectionist policy can stand. The company was simply ordering legal CDs at their fair market value and reselling them elsewhere. That's just good business. However, the UK recording industry wants to keep CD prices artificially high and therefore drive their customers to look for other alternatives (file sharing, ordering their own CDs from overseas, etc.). This does nothing to help the consumer at all.
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Most people in low income areas are far more concerned about food, clothing, and shelter then the cost of Britney's latest CD.
Organized crime exists in piracy because there is a profit to be made. The cost of developing a pirated CD is almost 1000% less than the cost of buying a legitimate one. Controlling the cost of CDs in low income areas while keeping the price artificially high in other areas only moves the contraband from low income areas to high income areas. Organized crime will produce the contraband in low income areas for distribution in high income areas.
If the cost of the CD was a little more reasonable everywhere, and the product was worth the cost of the CD, then people would much rather purchase the legitimate CD then purchase a knock-off or borrow and copy. This is pretty much common sense, but the RIAA doesn't believe in common sense, and would rather call their customers thiefs and pirates, and sue 12 year old girls and 80 year old grandmothers than actually give their customers a product they want at the price they believe is reasonable.
Until they learn this...everything they do along these lines are viewed as another attack on their customers in the name of their insatiable greed.
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What if I'm not in the UK or Ireland?
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