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***Understanding MAP Pricing*** Everyone here should read this!!!

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TwiceHorn:

--- Quote from: Brian10956 on April 06, 2017, 10:58:55 PM ---Sometimes I wish our meddlesome government would make MAP pricing against the law. I believe a business should have the right to sell and advertise at any price they choose. I have found that some vendors figure a way around this especially in package deals. When I purchased my first apple computer everyone was the exact same price. I did find one vendor who only charged me $50 for the $350 printer I purchased with it so for now that's one way to get around the MAP pricing. I recommend calling at the end of the month when the next rent bill is coming up for a vendor, talk to the owner or manager as see if you can work up a combo deal. Remember vendors need to make a living but if a fair deal for both sides can be made do it.

--- End quote ---

Well, it is close to illegal.  For a while there, manufacturers used to require minimum (or even sometimes maximum) prices as a condition of distributorship.  That practice, known as resale price maintenance, was a "per se" antitrust violation from 1911 to 2007, when the Dr. Miles case was overturned.  Now, such price maintenance conditions are subject to the rule of reason, meaning someone who does it can offer business justifications for doing it that may excuse the behavior.  Because MAP doesn't set an absolute minimum price, that is, the dealer can charge what they want but can't advertise the low prices, it is almost inevitably justifiable.

avator:
Isn't this what Harbor Freight is in trouble over?

Zoey:
The small business in which I work part-time is subject to MAP pricing. To further this conversation, I would like to add this:

Dealer pricing is often tied to the number of units purchased from the manufacturer. The more units my business  purchase, the lower the price to me. This is also often co-mingled with MAP pricing. If I purchase only a few units a year, my MAP price may be higher as dictated by the manufacturer. Conversely, the opposite may be true if I purchase in larger volumes.

One of our vendors has a 5-tier system; each with different pricing and MAP's based upon the volume purchased annually.

A few of our local business competitors have got themselves in trouble with manufacturers after they found out they were selling items below MAP. The manufacturers will no longer sell their items to those businesses.

Airspace:
On a number of retail sites you will see that the price will show up after you place your item in your cart. MAP is the reason behind that.

SILENT SQUIRREL:
Thanks for getting this thread rolling, Dave
Further thanks to all who have added detail.
FWIW,I just learned a great deal
Ed

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