If only that were true. Business will charge whatever price the market will bear. It's not always related to cost recovery. Look at the banks nickel and diming us with service charges. Their profit continues to escalate. There are many examples of business that, in theory, should be subject to competition but somehow manage to avoid this part of capitalist theory. Gas companies are another example.

A big problem with customer/business relationship is the customer doesn't always have good information to compare prices and services. What service charges are there? What do those services include? It's exhausting sometimes to try and wade through all the info when the presentation differs so much from business to business. Sometimes the fine print doesn't even cover what you need to know. Who has time for all that, all the time? 

Look at the little booklet of info the airlines provide re your rights as a flier. A whole truckload of stuff they would rather you didn't know.