A consumer is any person who consumes and receives satisfaction by paying the value for purchasing any commodity. The consumer can be a consumer of goods or a consumer of services. The situation in which the buyers do not receive the benefits and services according to the buyer's value or the situation in which the sellers receives or charges the value of commodities higher than its value is known as consumer exploitation. Consumer exploitation can be made in many different ways in such major ways are being discussed:
a. Hoarding
Consumer exploitation is taking advantage of the consumers. The term "hoarding" may include the practice of obtaining and holding resources to create artificial scarcity, thus reducing the supply, to increase the price, so that they can be sold to customers for profit.
b. Black marketing
The black market is the strategy used to by the seller to sell the commodity in higher by creating the artificial scarcity. This is a market place which takes place outside government-sanctioned channel.
c. Adulteration
It is the process of mixing or substituting the identical and undesirable materials in the food items. This will cause heavy loss to the consumers and also leads to many diseases while consuming undesirable commodities. For example Mixing of bricks powder in chili powder, because both are identical and the consumer cannot differentiate it.
d. False claim
Sellers make a false claim about the performance and quality of their product through advertisements. This false claim may attract consumers who are not aware of the original quality of the product.
e. Under measurement
Sellers generally give under measured goods and charge for the actual quantity. This quantity reduction will increase the profit of the sellers but exploit the consumers.
f. Substandard goods
Sellers usually sell inferior quality goods in order to make more profit. But they charge the same amount for the goods then the consumer gets substandard goods for higher prices.
