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Comment by sokoloff | Hacker News Reader

At the very least, you could have been a whole lot more clear than responding to a comment of "But for the first ~3 weeks of the pandemic, our sawmills ran flat out -- more production than ever. Notwithstanding that fact, we saw unprecedented pricing -- because demand was radically outpacing supply." with "What you describe is the definition of price gouging."

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I'm not clear on what you think wasn't clear in my original comment. Are you suggesting that increased production can't happen in situations of price gauging?

My intent was to link the logic OP described with the logic behind price gouging. I didn't think it was expecting too much of the reader to have a negative view of price gouging and therefore view my comment as a criticism of OP's explanation.

If you were intending all along to be speaking generally, replying to the description of what they experienced with lumber prices and mills operating at maximum capacity with "What you describe is the definition of price gouging" could lead many readers (including this one) to conclude that you were speaking specifically about their situation rather than generally about the topic.

Even now I can't be sure whether you think the multi-quarter increase in price of building supplies in 2020 and 2021 was price gouging or not.

I was speaking to their specific logic and not their specific situation. Whether their situation qualifies legally as price gouging depends on the degree they raised prices and the jurisdiction in which they do business. Neither of those were mentioned in the original post, so whether their situation was truly and legally was price gouging was unanswerable to any of us.

I specifically used general terms in my comment. This included using "disaster" instead of "pandemic" or "COVID". I included an "or" in "supply shocks, demand shocks, or both". I also referred to "various industries". I thought collectively that was enough to make it clear that I was speaking more broadly than just referring to OP's specific situation. I don't know exactly were I lost you, was it just the fact that my comment was a direct reply to their and you took that as an indication that I wouldn't speak beyond that initial context?

I went astray when I read your first sentence as being in reference to the specific situation. "What you describe is the definition of price gouging." What percentage of the blame for that misread is on the reader and what percent is on the writer is surely a matter on which opinions could differ.

After an earthquake and when people have no access to tap water demand for bottled water goes up. Yet raising the price of bottled water in that situation is still considered price gouging.

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