Predatory Businesspeople in the WW was Dudely

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 189764



--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Bart Lidofsky <bart at ...> wrote:
 Vernon is depicted as a predatory businessman (note 
> that the only predatory businesspeople shown in the WW are the ones in 
> Knockturn Alley), who believes that the best way to success is to knock 
> everybody else down and take what's theirs.

Pippin:
Predatory businesspeople are found other places in the WW besides Knockturn Alley. Hogwarts, for example, where Neville and other gullible souls are sold fraudulent charms to protect them from Slytherin's Monster. There's  a black market in equally fraudulent charms to help people pass their OWLS, and in HBP phony anti-dark wares were hawked on Diagon Alley itself. Then there's Ludo Bagman and his goblin backers, not to mention Horace Slughorn and his  sideline in potions ingredients obtained from Hagrid who seemed to be as ignorant of their market value as poor Merope was of her locket's.

I will say that the Twins are shown as honest in their dealings with their customers and suppliers, but that doesn't extend to seeing that the suppliers and customers themselves are above-board. They don't ask too many questions of either. 

Pippin