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Tue, Mar 5th 2013 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Sometimes, a free market doesn't create a thriving bazaar of competition. Occasionally, huge monopolies form, and the result is less competition (and sometimes less innovation). Maybe it doesn't matter if you own Mediterranean and Baltic Avenue, but it could if you have Park Place and Boardwalk. Here are a few examples of monopolies you might run into someday.

Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller own a lot of beer companies, and Anheuser-Busch InBev wants to buy up Grupo Modelo next. If the deal goes through, 46% of the US beer market would be controlled by a single company. [url]
Eyeglasses aren't exactly hard to make, but they can be surprisingly expensive for a few grams of plastic. Luxottica is the company behind the glasses that about half a billion people wear, but maybe that will change when Google starts selling its fancy eyewear.... [url]
If you've ever bought (or tried to sell) a diamond, you've probably run across a little company called De Beers. Chemistry professors should curse De Beers for the broadly held myth that a diamond is forever... diamonds are not the most thermodynamically stable form of carbon by a long shot. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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Filed Under: beer, competition, diamonds, eye wear, glasses, innovation, monopoly
Companies: anheuser-busch inbev, debeers, grupo modelo, luxottica, sabmiller

14 Comments

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silverscarcat (profile), 5 Mar 2013 @ 4:04pm

Boardwalk? PAH!
Real Monopoly players always strive for New York Avenue and the orange corner.
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A Dan (profile), 5 Mar 2013 @ 5:14pm

The beer merger
If you listen to Planet Money's podcast on the potential beer merger, it's really interesting. Apparently the big two act together with price increases, and it's only the competition from Corona that keeps the beer prices down. It definitely sounds like it's anti-competitive, not an acquisition because they really like the company.
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- Mike Masnick (profile), 5 Mar 2013 @ 5:35pm
  
  Re: The beer merger
  If you listen to Planet Money's podcast on the potential beer merger, it's really interesting. Apparently the big two act together with price increases, and it's only the competition from Corona that keeps the beer prices down. It definitely sounds like it's anti-competitive, not an acquisition because they really like the company.
  
  Yes, was about to post the same basic comment. Here's the link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/02/23/172724026/episode-438-mavericks-monopolies-and-beer
  
  The key point is not so much that they would control 46% of the market, but that the much smaller Grupo Modelo refuses to go alone with InBev and Miller raise prices, thus forcing them to keep their pricing lower. So the potential antitrust issue is not necessarily the size of the market, but the market harm that will result from wiping out the one player who seems willing to go against attempts to bump up prices.
  
  Really interesting stuff.
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Robin Townsend, 5 Mar 2013 @ 6:44pm

Stumbleupon
Linking your readers to a previous techdirt article is cool. Sending us to another website to view it (stumbleupon), is not.
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- Michael Ho (profile), 5 Mar 2013 @ 8:42pm
  
  Re: Stumbleupon
  Really? We do it to promote our posts, obviously. You don't have to click on the link?
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  - Robin Townsend, 6 Mar 2013 @ 12:26am
    
    Re: Re: Stumbleupon
    It speaks to integrity. If you are going to send someone to another website -to view yours- tell them. In this case,you are not promoting techdirt (your readers are already here) you are promoting stumbleupon.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Michael Ho (profile), 6 Mar 2013 @ 12:53pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Stumbleupon
      Robin,
      
      Oh. you're actually totally right. The last line of our DailyDirt posts used to have a bit about StumbleUpon recommendations, but somehow (without thinking), I forgot about that part when I copy/pasted/edited... and I've been omitting our shout out to StumbleUpon by mistake.
      
      I'll add a "via StumbleUpon" to let people know that's where the link is taking them.... We're not trying to fool anyone or anything like that, the omission was an honest mistake.
      
      Apologies.
      
      Mike
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ShellMG, 5 Mar 2013 @ 9:57pm

The cost of eyewear...
...is a serious bummer when you need high index lenses, can't wear rimless frames and your eye doc keeps asking if you're ready for bifocals.

i've worn glasses since I was 7. I will always be grateful for the invention of high index lenses but when you add on the cost of a decent pair of frames and Crizal...yeowch.

I hope Google comes up with a way to add a script to their lenses. That would be crazy-cool.
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- Anonymous Coward, 6 Mar 2013 @ 4:44am
  
  Re: The cost of eyewear...
  You tried zenni?
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- Anonymous Coward, 6 Mar 2013 @ 5:03am
  
  Re: The cost of eyewear...
  meh - and I thought you were going for a beer goggle gag.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Mar 2013 @ 6:29am

diamonds are not the most thermodynamically stable form of carbon by a long shot. that the hell are you talking about, where in that article does it talk about the thermodynamic stability of carbon ? or diamonds (which is just carbon).

It's also been common knowledge for 20 years that if De Beers put all the diamonds they have in holding on the market it would result in the complete collapse of diamond prices.

the biggest market by far for diamonds are for industrial use, not for gems.

how much money would you spend in your life on diamonds (even if you marry hundreds of times) compared to how much money you would spend on electricity or fuel for your car !!

if fact your car and it's fuel would cost a great deal more to product if diamonds were not cheaply available for industrial use. Try drilling for oil without a diamond drill bit !!!!
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Pixelation, 6 Mar 2013 @ 7:33am

"...46% of the US beer market would be controlled by a single company."

Now all they need to do is buy Hostess and make Twinkie beer.
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Ryan, 6 Mar 2013 @ 10:27am

"...46% of the US beer market would be controlled by a single company."

Methinks you're playing fast and loose with the definition of the word 'beer'.
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Crashoverride (profile), 6 Mar 2013 @ 3:44pm

The seven page article on Diamonds was amazingly detailed. Even more fascinating was the fact that the article was written thirty years ago.... making all the more interesting the fact that a thirty year old article got posted to the internet.
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