Price fixing

A price fixing agreement is an agreement, express or implied, between two firms to set the price of a good or service. It can be horizontal (an agreement between competitors) or vertical (an agreement between a supplier and a reseller, or between a wholesaler and a retailer). It is illegal for companies to engage in price fixing in the United States.

Examples

• In 2001, it was discovered that the British auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's, were caught fixing prices of commissions on auctioned goods. Employees of both firms were charged with price fixing, with some serving jail time.
• OPEC engages in price fixing. Since the agreement is between countries, and not individual firms, there has not been a successful lawsuit against OPEC filed in the United States.