Businesses agree to directly or indirectly fix purchase or selling price.
Under fair market competition, the dynamics of supply and demand determine the prices of goods and services. When businesses act independently of the market by agreeing to fix prices, they are engaging in anti-competitive behavior.
Businesses agree to fix prices at an auction or to manipulate bids. At a fair bidding or auction, the business offering the best price or terms wins. Businesses commit bid rigging when they set who among the bidders will win the bid. They do this by submitting higher-priced bids or withdrawing their bids in order for the “pre-selected” winner to get the contract. This is an anti-competitive practice that forces buyers to select the higher-priced bid and pass the additional cost to consumers.
Selling goods or services below cost in order to drive competitors out of a market.
Setting prices or terms that unreasonably exclude some sellers or customers of the same goods or services.
Businesses agree to limit production by restricting output or setting quotas. This creates an artificial shortage in the market, thereby driving prices up. Consumers end up paying more, and businesses earn larger profits without innovating or being efficient.
Businesses divide the market and claim dominance according to territory, customer demographic, sales volume, or product type. This creates local monopolies, and deprives consumers of choices that would have been available under fair market competition.
A dominant business may purchase goods and resources which it does not need, but their competitor does. By removing this access to much-needed materials, a dominant business can force its competitors out of the market.
Dominant companies use this position to exploit consumers and competitors by charging excessive or unfair purchase or sales prices, or by setting unfair trading conditions.
When the dominant business damages competitor operations by refusing to provide them goods or services.
