Originally Posted by
Dave Cutter
It's supply and demand. It's ALWAYS supply and demand. Anything in great demand... and very limited in supply is most often auctioned. An auction is supply and demand in it's purest most visible form.
Grail bikes and rare cars.... both perform their tasks almost identically to more common, less desirable vehicles. But demand for the rare (low supply) item can drive prices and profits through the roof. Whereas similar mass-produced items (large supply) can have customers waiting (low demand) for a big sale before jumping on a purchase.
caveat to the S&D. S&D can also be dictated by the consumer when determining where to make the purchase. IE: The item may be OOS everywhere expect for one store locally, & may be cheapest compared to nearby competitors that would have it. That store with the in-stocked item may have workers or an owner that is known to be less than satisfactory when it comes to interacting or holding true to expressed warranties.
The customer may be willing to wait & pay slightly more to procure the item elsewhere rather then "deal" with the broken promises & shady business that does have it currently available & for less cost.