To buy or not to buy, that is the question, my friend

It is remarkable how almost slyly, the prices of things creep up on us.

Before we know it, our monthly grocery bill gets bigger and I can't for the life of me, figure out why or which item is the culprit.

I recall buying a bottle of bleach for Dh9.50 in May.

Yesterday, as I was throwing away a used bottle, I noticed the price tag on it said Dh10.50.

The new one I had just bought was for Dh10.75.

"It is the unstoppable march of inflation, my friend," said the shopkeeper when I complained.

"This is a free economy and the market fixes the prices." He would not take the bottle back either.

I felt angry and wanted to complain.

But there really is no one I can go to without much red tape involved, right? I couldn't go to the department of economic
development, the municipality, the chamber of commerce or the ministry of economy.

What I needed was a consumer protection body that I could write to - even better if I could call or email - and register my complaint.

But then again, if it is a free economy, what is the need to protect the consumer?

Demand and supply would take care of that. If hundreds of thousands of people refused to buy that particular bottle of bleach, the price would come down, right?

Unfortunately, it does not happen that way in the real world. Like utopia, there is no such thing as perfect competition.

So, what can one do?

I recalled the well-publicised inspections and raids by the Ministry of Economy and local authorities to check abnormal price rises, especially at the onset of Ramadan.

Inspectors, accompanied by the media, issued on-the-spot fines to shops that they felt were flouting price guidelines, though I am not aware if any price guidelines
exist.

On the face of it, it looked good. Somebody was doing something to help the "poor" consumer, especially at a time when demand for food items would go up dramatically, allowing "greedy" shopkeepers to hike prices.

But isn't that exactly what free market means?

More importantly, does the control over prices work? Did the inspections and raids help?

I decided to check what the consumers had to say.

Surprise, surprise - only 4 per cent believed that retail prices, especially those of foodstuffs, have actually come down due to the recent action from the authorities.

An overwhelming 85 per cent of the respondents to the Emirates 24|7 Poll said the authorities were not doing enough to check prices, that action was limited and that
traders got way with it.

Of course, we did have 6 per cent non-committal saying only that they knew the authorities were doing something.

Another 4 per cent bothered to vote to say they couldn't be bothered about the prices or actions to check them.

I'm a consumer too and I accept that free market is advised, but with some regulation, yes?

And more importantly, in a free market the consumer may not be king, but he does have the freedom to buy or not to buy.

If you think the price is too high, don't moan - just walk away.

Personally, inflation is a fact of life that I have come to terms with through hard experience with my wife's unique budgetary style and my children's hard-to-resist demands, pleas and threats.

They, however, never beg me.

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