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Re:If you imagine a business making surgical facemasks is wo... by lugged on Sunday April 05, 2020 @10:03PM (#22790314)
If you can make masks for 10c its not price gouging to sell it at a normal markup from those costs. Its not even "basically a backdoor form of raising prices" It's literally just what it costs.

Also, I highly doubt this guy is using 10 year contracts.

If I was him I would only be selling to those hospitals that sign 100 year contracts with strict non compete clauses and defined rules around sourcing / pricing and failures to comply.

Re:If you imagine a business making surgical facemasks is wo... by rch on Monday April 06, 2020 @12:49AM (#22790981)
> 100 year contracts with strict non compete clauses and defined rules around sourcing / pricing and failures to comply.

Exactly. IIRC Sysco negotiates 50-99 year contracts with e.g. universities to supply on campus dining. It seems that firms in the healthcare supply chain would do the same.

Re:If you imagine a business making surgical facemasks is wo... by michaelt on Monday April 06, 2020 @09:50AM (#22793661)
Interesting. What does a customer do, in a 50-year contract, if the level of service drops or the product becomes obsolete?
Re:If you imagine a business making surgical facemasks is wo... by djyaz1200 on Sunday April 05, 2020 @11:15PM (#22790653)
Totally agree, he should accept orders from any org willing to sign a long term deal at his usual prices and run the factory 24/7.
Re:If you imagine a business making surgical facemasks is wo... by londons_explore on Monday April 06, 2020 @12:05AM (#22790827)
Most companies go bankrupt in a lot less than 100 years... In most cases, the full value of the contract would never be paid.
Re:If you imagine a business making surgical facemasks is wo... by Sabinus on Monday April 06, 2020 @04:22AM (#22791804)
It would still solve the problem of companies not purchasing while they're solvent but not urgently needing masks.