Examining complaints about exorbitant prices according to fraud types: The case of Şikayetvar

Exorbitant pricing often occurs when demand exceeds supply. Especially for products with limited resources or high demand, companies can raise prices. For example, after a natural disaster, the demand for products such as water or basic necessities may increase, which can raise prices. In some industries, a few large companies dominate the market. By controlling prices, these companies can limit competition and result in exorbitant pricing. In such a situation, consumers may be deprived of alternatives and have to pay high prices. New products and technology: New products or technologies are often offered at high initial prices. Companies can charge high prices to offset production costs and recover their investment. This may expose consumers to exorbitant pricing. In some cases, demand for a particular product or service may increase unexpectedly, while supply may remain limited. For example, during a pandemic, the demand for medical supplies or drugs may increase, leading to higher prices. Some countries have consumer protection laws to prevent exorbitant pricing. These laws can limit or make it illegal for companies to increase their prices exorbitantly. However, the effectiveness and applicability of legal regulations may differ from country to country. Consumer concerns about exorbitant pricing have become a major problem in many industries. In this thesis, it is aimed to examine the complaints of consumers on the complainant platform about exorbitant pricing and to determine the motivations behind these complaints. This study provides an important perspective to understand the attitudes and behaviors of consumers about exorbitant prices. This study is based on the analysis of the complaints obtained from the Şikayetvar platform during the data collection process. Şikayetvar is an online platform that offers consumers the opportunity to share their complaints and experience with other users. For the study, the complaints of exorbitant pricing in different sectors were taken into account and these complaints were analyzed qualitatively. In the analysis process, factors such as the content of the complaints, the sectors complained of, pricing policies and consumer reactions were taken into account. As a result of the analysis of the complaints on the Şikayetvar platform, it has been determined that consumers have various motivations regarding exorbitant pricing. Among these, there are factors such as consumers' desire to protect their financial resources, reaction to unfair earnings, incompatibility with product and service quality, lack of competition. In addition, it has been observed that most of consumers' complaints about exorbitant pricing are concentrated in sectors such as electronic goods, health services and tourism. This thesis provides valuable insight by using the Şikayetvar platform to identify consumers' motivations for excessive pricing.