Another variation is the postage stamp system of pricing, according to which there is an average amount of freight charge added to each shipment regardless of the destination. There may be one average or a series based on a system of zones. The seller estimates his freight charges for the total of all shipments or a class of them and calculates an average. He may quote a certain price that includes this average, thereby absorbing freight directly, or he may allow the buyer to pay the actual freight charge and then deduct this amount from the invoice. The actual cost of the item, accordingly, is the same for any buyer. Transportation differentials are eliminated. There is no phantom freight in this instance, since the charges for freight eventually do go to carriers. But specific buyers may pay more or less than their true freight costs, depending on their relative location. This practice is found in the aluminum industry and in connection with a number of consumer goods (candy, cigarettes, soft drinks, automobile tires), where the product is standardized and one national price is advertised.
 Uniform Delivered Prices
There is much question about uniform delivered prices. Although they may remove the advantage of location so far as component parts are concerned, they also remove the disadvantage of location for the more distant plants. The idea of uniformity in prices may find expression in other ways. For example, freight costs on citrus fruits destined for the East Coast may be equalized whether the origin is California or Florida. Otherwise, if the rate were based on miles traveled, it would be impossible for the fruits of both destinations to compete in these common markets.
Earlier in American economic history, prices were less uniform. Buyers and sellers carried on a considerable amount of haggling before consummating their sales. Prices have tended to become more uniform with the spread of national markets and the advances in transportation. Although variations and fluctuations do exist, many of these variations are more among classes of buyers rather than among individual buyers. Types of price variations may result from particular merchandising practices, such as special sales, premiums, free deals, and advertising allowances. Guarantees against price declines also are present, and these may vary between different purchasers. If special advantages are afforded particular groups, a type of discrimination results.
It should be pointed out that not all types of price discrimination are illegal. Discriminatory prices are permitted in interstate commerce when they may be justified by variations in costs of production and selling. Another interesting anomaly is the existence of a uniform price.
Frequently, governmental agencies will look upon a uniform price charged by different sellers as evidence of collusion, yet a single price, charged by all producers at the same time, is the ultimate solution for the purely competitive model. What becomes significant, then, in determining whether collusion, intelligent following of the leader, or pure competition has been present, is the history of the uniform price. It is less significant that a single price exists at any one time than that this same price has persisted among most of the sellers for an extended duration.
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