[xnyan]

The idea of the free market in this context comes from Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations, in which he says that a market is free if buyers and sellers can pursue their own self-interest. It's in the interest of the seller to sell the phone at a price higher than they paid for it, and it's in the interest of the buyer to purchase the phone from the seller at a price lower than would otherwise be available.

[andrekandre]

  > he says that a market is free if buyers and sellers can pursue their own self-interest

probably we are agreeing, but just to bring a little more clarity what is meant by "free market" in the adam smith context:

  > For classical economists such as Adam Smith, the term free market refers to a market free from all forms of economic privilege, monopolies and artificial scarcities.[2] They say this implies that economic rents, which they describe as profits generated from a lack of perfect competition, must be reduced or eliminated as much as possible through free competition.

so i'd say sellers trying to create an artificial regional monopoly/oligopoly of sales and high prices is the exact opposite of what adam smith would have preferred...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market#Georgism