Ona’ah in Today’s Working Environment

Rav Yosef Greenwald, Rav of Khal Dexter Park and Dayan in the Bais HaVaad

Question: Ona’ah is classically defined as when an item is priced above 1/6th more than the market price. We all get annoyed when we feel we get overcharged for an item, however there are a myriad of factors that go into pricing an item, such as quality, service, location and more which would justify the higher pricing. How then can we apply ona’ah in contemporary times?

Answer: The truth of the matter is that we have to divide ona’ah into two separate discussions.

• A Claim of Ona’ah Which Can be Prosecuted in a Bais Din: In regards to this it is correct that factors would need to be taken into account to determine the correct price – such as location, service, ambiance and everything else that goes into determining a price in a specific market. The customer would have to prove that the item was more than one-sixth overpriced, based on all those factors, which would be rather difficult.
• The Aveirah and Morals of Taking Advantage of People: However if we talk about what is permitted and what is not according to the laws of ona’ah, a storekeeper has to know that even if a claim against him cannot be enforced, he still has to do the right thing and should not take advantage of a customer. If he knows that he is selling something at a very inflated price – for example, if he realizes a customer is unaware of the accepted price and figures he can tack on an extra 25% to the price he would usually ask – he should realize that this might be prohibited. Even if he is only tacking on a small amount that is less than one-sixth above the standard market price, the Rosh still speculates that although the buyer has no claim in bais din, the seller may still be transgressing a prohibition.

Thus, although it is very difficult to press a claim of ona’ah in today’s times because of all the variables involved in determining a market price, there still would be an important discussion about what practices the seller should avoid in order not to transgress this prohibition.