Candlemakers Petition

Once upon a time (1845), in a faraway land (France), a patriot (economist) named Frédéric Bastiat had a brilliant (?) discovery.

He saw that the lighting industry was being mercilessly destroyed by a foreign “rival who … is flooding the domestic market with [light] at an incredibly low price” and asked for the government’s actions.

That wretched rival who showed no respect for the indigenous people of his country, who so perfidiously stole the income of many, was none other than – the Sun.

When I read the Lieber Case, I was reminded of the Candlemaker Petition, for in both, export dumping, or selling below domestic cost in a foreign market, was evident.

Though the petition was satirical of French Protectionism at best, it resembled the problems industries often face. When trades are being invaded by predatory pricing from an international rival, should the businesses lower and match that predatory pricing?

In class, we learned that businesses need to at least reach the break-even point. When we added up the fixed costs and overheads, price war seemed unrealistic. Perhaps the best thing to do, then, is to wait until the other side breaks? But… will the Sun ever fade?

Many of us are underage. While we weep over our lack of credit card, we don’t have to endure hidden costs in the form of  ‘negative option marketing’ like many unsuspecting citizens.

In the Strait Times article ‘ Pay unless you opt out,’citizens were forced to pay to an organization in which they had no prior contact with, unless they chose to opt out. Automatic bill paying makes checking invoices tedious; thus, when people do not notice the hidden extra cost, the company will continue charging them.

Salespeople believe negative-option marketing will ‘help achieve their short-term sales objective’, but from experience, I know that it only creates customer distaste and criticism towards the company.

My mother was once a Sears reward-card member. One day, she looked over her invoice and discovered an unknown fee. Alarmed, she called the Sears customer service who told her that it was a cost she had consented to. My mom soon realized that the so-called consent was simply her not opting out of the fee.

Negative-option marketing is shameless, but legal. Yes, shocking. A word of advice: peruse over your invoice as if it were your econ textbook. It’ll be worth your while.