Much has been made of anti-trust lately, so this week, let’s talk about price fixing.  

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “Price fixing is an agreement (written, verbal, or inferred from conduct) among competitors to raise, lower, maintain, or stabilize prices or price levels.” Generally, the antitrust laws require that each company establish prices and other competitive terms on its own, without agreeing with a competitor. 

Let’s focus on the inferred conduct. A way this could be shown is if you are sharing nonpublic information with a competitor(s) for the purpose of fixing a price. Currently, the Department of Justice has filed a complaint against a company and some landlords alleging this exact conduct. (You can read about that filing here.)

There is nothing harmful about seeing what others are doing and doing the same if you think it would work for you (i.e., public marketing). That is, so long as the business decision is independent and not with an agreement or coordination with the competitor.  

Click here to read more about what the FTC has to say about price fixing, in general.

Remember, if you have any questions on this topic, please feel free to reach out to us on the Virginia REALTORS^® Legal Hotline.