Hate it but ... we got the dreaded call from Joe Rocket today that our prices are below the minimum allowed price. So we get to spend today/tomorrow going through and making sure our prices are high enough. If you get your order in before we are able to update and upload the prices you will get the current prices. So it is kinda ... last day for current Joe Rocket prices ... Not sure how much will be updated tonight - but the track/race related items will be last (First update should occur around Midnight ET). By tomorrow night all prices should be updated to the allowed minimum price.
That type of policy has been around for a while ... just take a look at some of the other online or local stores that have MAP (Minimun Advertised Price) policies/postings about certain products. Is it Price fixing? Not legally. Why not legally? Because we can choose to keep our current prices and risk our dealer status with Joe Rocket or other brands. Of course any supplier/distributor can find a reason to not supply(or stop supplying) a dealer and say their decision was based on a risk analysis and that the dealer was a bigger risk than they were willing to take. FWIW - Joe Rocket is not the only one "suggesting" MAP's ... Other brands do it too - Even ones you buy everyday at the local mall, wal-mart, etc. So based on that I really can't add anymore other than if you get your order in before we get the prices updated ... then you get the below MAP prices.
Here's one of those fine examples where federal law completely contradicts itself. [from the FTC website] "Resale price maintenance agreements. Vertical price-fixing -- an agreement between a supplier and a dealer that fixes the minimum resale price of a product -- is a clear-cut antitrust violation. It also is illegal for a manufacturer and retailer to agree on a minimum resale price. The antitrust laws, however, give a manufacturer latitude to adopt a policy regarding a desired level of resale prices and to deal only with retailers who independently decide to follow that policy. A manufacturer also is permitted to stop dealing with a retailer who breaches the manufacturer’s resale price maintenance policy. That is, the manufacturer can adopt the policy on a "take it or leave it" basis." Makes perfect sense, right? - Roach
MAP pricing is a *completely* different thing. MAP pricing is the lowest amount you can *advertise* the product for ... it has nothing to do with how much you can sell the product for. You can sell the item for whatever you want. This is a completely legal and common practice. For example, most online sites that deal with MAP pricing policies will tell you to "add it to your cart" to see the actual price you will be paying (best buy, amazon, etc all do this on MAP items). Catalog or magazine ads tell you to "call for price". The courts have ruled that adding the item to the cart or calling is "entering into a transaction", which then allows you to reveal the actual sale price. Vertical price fixing (what JR is engaging in with you) is screwed up. It's illegal for them to force you to sell for a certain price, but it's not illegal for them to simply not sell to you if you don't sell for a certain price. - Roach
This is 100% correct i went through this with Shoei i could not advertise for lower then what they said or i ran the risk of not being a dealer anymore however i could see at whatever i wanted to.. and alot of people were getting in trouble about this perfect example is helmet harbor if some of you remember when you went to their Shoei section you could see the price right there.... now if you look you have to add to cart before you see what the real price is
GAMEDIC - Even the "add it to your cart" work around is being targeted in the new MAP's. Doesn't seem right does it? It is the equivlent of walking up to the counter and asking "what's my special price? Is this on sale today?". Roach - You have to love the FTC don't you Reading that snipet brings back memories ... ahhh what fun it was when I found that snipet while doing my crash refresher course in Business 101 (In the early stages of setting up US Superbikes.com) Also they are NOT doing vertical price fixing. As I stated it is our choice to comply. To not comply would risk our dealer status. Thanks for the info on how the court views "add to cart". I have not had a chance to look into that yet, as it seems it is going to be challenged by some MAP's.
Of course they're not ... they're just not going to sell to you anymore if you don't "voluntarily" sell their products at their "recommended" prices How that part of the anti-trust laws got written, I have no idea ... it was obviously bought by someone with deep pockets. Just reading it makes you say "WTF?" as the first part is obviously made useless by the second. - Roach
