[eyegouging]

Usually when people say “price gouging” they are making a moral claim — the price being charged is Wrong — not a technical claim.

So you can’t distinguish it without sharing the same morals as the speaker, and you therefore should “know it when you see it”.

[buck4roo]

No moral claim required.

When price increases exceed the increases in costs/raw-goods... then it's "greedflation", not "price gouging". Increasing profit margins are also a good signal of it.

Inflation and Price Gouging - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/14/briefing/inflation-supply...

Are Large Corporate Profit Margins Causing Inflation? - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/opinion/inflation-corpora...

I Listened In on Big Business. It’s Profiting From Inflation, and You’re Paying for It. - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/opinion/us-companies-infl...

[nradov]

Are you suggesting that profit margins should be fixed at current levels and never change?

[eyegouging]

I think they are suggesting that profit margins should be zero (if not negative)… and in my experience most people taking these kinds of positions would prefer if your takehome pay was just a little bit less than theirs.

So pretty much doubling down on the point: it’s gouging when I say it is.