MAP pricing is becoming more prevalent every day in our hobby. Just last week I got an email about an online sale that noted at the bottom "Not valid on products by EcoTech, Neptune Systems, Digital Aquatics, CoralVue, Reef Octopus, Maxspect, Aqua Illumination, Vertex, Korallen Zucht, Speedwave, Sweetwater, Atlantic". I fully expect to see this list grows longer and longer until sales have more products excluded than included.
Does MAP pricing help the LFS? I am not sure. In theory it should, right? Unfortunately most of the LFSs I have price checked at ask more than the MAP price anyway, so it has yet to drive me to buy local.
Does MAP pricing hurt the Manufacturer? I think it could. Sales drive un-planned purchases. Most of us have bought things we didn't plan on because the sale made it it too good to pass up. I know that an AI Hydra is always going to cost me $399. If something else that competes with it goes on sale while I am planning to purchase a Hydra, I could change my plans and AI looses a sale.
Why don't we see "Add to cart to see price" deals? Vendors like Amazon use this all the time in order to sell things like TVs below MAP. The courts have ruled that this is legal, but yet we haven't seen any of the online vendor in the hobby use this to move product.
Thoughts?
Does MAP pricing help the LFS? I am not sure. In theory it should, right? Unfortunately most of the LFSs I have price checked at ask more than the MAP price anyway, so it has yet to drive me to buy local.
Does MAP pricing hurt the Manufacturer? I think it could. Sales drive un-planned purchases. Most of us have bought things we didn't plan on because the sale made it it too good to pass up. I know that an AI Hydra is always going to cost me $399. If something else that competes with it goes on sale while I am planning to purchase a Hydra, I could change my plans and AI looses a sale.
Why don't we see "Add to cart to see price" deals? Vendors like Amazon use this all the time in order to sell things like TVs below MAP. The courts have ruled that this is legal, but yet we haven't seen any of the online vendor in the hobby use this to move product.
Thoughts?