Garmin Price Fixing Post from other newsgroup

Subject: Garmin too big for their britches? (Fixed Pricing)
From: (TripodBill)
Date: 7/14/2004 12:09 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

Many readers appropriately picked up on one of the most important issues in my
earlier post: Minimum Retail Price Policy (i.e., controls). For those that are
still interested in the subject and are of the "pilot persuasion" here's an
update of what you can expect at the Oshkosh show this year. You may recall
from my previous post that I relayed information from a friend Garmin's new
price policy on the GPSMAP 296 at SunNFun. Well, if you are headed to EAA's
Oshkosh show this year, there is good and bad news. Good news: The older GPSMAP
196 will be cheaper this year at about $795. More Good news: There will be new
low-end handhelds in B&W and color to replace the aging GPS III Pilot and
GPSMAP 295. The new handhelds will both be in the GPSMAP 76 form factor. (Not
sure if that's a great design for yoke mounting, but I'll leave that to pilots
to decide.) Bad news? ALL MODELS will now be under the Minimum Retail Price
Policy, meaning no dealer at the show will be competing with another dealer.
Buy from whoever you like, 'cause they can't sell it to you any cheaper. Any
dealer that screws up and offers free shipping, a package deal, or discounted
accessory will be canceled by Garmin. Garmin has now fixed prices on all their
aviation products. It will be just a matter of time before they do the same in
the automotive, outdoor and marine product lines. Happy shopping!

-Bill


(for more info, see sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup)

Screw them! I'm ditching my 295 for the Lowrance 2000.

On 15 Jul 2004 00:19:50 GMT, (TripodBill) wrote:

Subject: Garmin too big for their britches? (Fixed Pricing)
From: (TripodBill)
Date: 7/14/2004 12:09 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

Many readers appropriately picked up on one of the most important issues in my
earlier post: Minimum Retail Price Policy (i.e., controls). For those that are
still interested in the subject and are of the "pilot persuasion" here's an
update of what you can expect at the Oshkosh show this year. You may recall
from my previous post that I relayed information from a friend Garmin's new
price policy on the GPSMAP 296 at SunNFun. Well, if you are headed to EAA's
Oshkosh show this year, there is good and bad news. Good news: The older GPSMAP
196 will be cheaper this year at about $795. More Good news: There will be new
low-end handhelds in B&W and color to replace the aging GPS III Pilot and
GPSMAP 295. The new handhelds will both be in the GPSMAP 76 form factor. (Not
sure if that's a great design for yoke mounting, but I'll leave that to pilots
to decide.) Bad news? ALL MODELS will now be under the Minimum Retail Price
Policy, meaning no dealer at the show will be competing with another dealer.
Buy from whoever you like, 'cause they can't sell it to you any cheaper. Any
dealer that screws up and offers free shipping, a package deal, or discounted
accessory will be canceled by Garmin. Garmin has now fixed prices on all their
aviation products. It will be just a matter of time before they do the same in
the automotive, outdoor and marine product lines. Happy shopping!

-Bill


(for more info, see sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup)

On 15 Jul 2004 00:19:50 GMT, (TripodBill) wrote:

Subject: Garmin too big for their britches? (Fixed Pricing)
From: (TripodBill)
Date: 7/14/2004 12:09 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

Many readers appropriately picked up on one of the most important issues in my
earlier post: Minimum Retail Price Policy (i.e., controls). For those that are
still interested in the subject and are of the "pilot persuasion" here's an
update of what you can expect at the Oshkosh show this year. You may recall
from my previous post that I relayed information from a friend Garmin's new
price policy on the GPSMAP 296 at SunNFun. Well, if you are headed to EAA's
Oshkosh show this year, there is good and bad news. Good news: The older GPSMAP
196 will be cheaper this year at about $795. More Good news: There will be new
low-end handhelds in B&W and color to replace the aging GPS III Pilot and
GPSMAP 295. The new handhelds will both be in the GPSMAP 76 form factor. (Not
sure if that's a great design for yoke mounting, but I'll leave that to pilots
to decide.) Bad news? ALL MODELS will now be under the Minimum Retail Price
Policy, meaning no dealer at the show will be competing with another dealer.
Buy from whoever you like, 'cause they can't sell it to you any cheaper. Any

That's interesting. Back in "the old days", Remington and Winchester
had a minimum retail price. The FTC took exception to that form of
doing business and they quietly dropped the practice.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

dealer that screws up and offers free shipping, a package deal, or discounted
accessory will be canceled by Garmin. Garmin has now fixed prices on all their
aviation products. It will be just a matter of time before they do the same in
the automotive, outdoor and marine product lines. Happy shopping!

-Bill


(for more info, see sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup)

There's quite a difference between Minimun retail pricing and MSRP
(manufacturers suggested retail price).
John



Juan Jimenez wrote:



(for more info, see sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup)

Minimum retail pricing is not illegal. It's called MSRP, under another
name. For example, all the video game console manufacturers have been
doing it for years. What stores do is tell people to call for special
pricing when they have it available. Garmin would be making a big
mistake if they were to cancel dealers who sell product at anything
below their min pricing guideline, or who offer incentives that have
nothing to do with the price of the units, because the media (myself
included) would not look kindly at such actions.

I will make it a point to check on this at OSH. If anyone has evidence
that a dealer has been cancelled or otherwise penalized for offering an
incentive like the ones described above, come to the Aero-News trailer
at the Media Center and let us know.

Juan

(TripodBill) wrote in
:

Subject: Garmin too big for their britches? (Fixed Pricing)
From: (TripodBill)
Date: 7/14/2004 12:09 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

Many readers appropriately picked up on one of the most important
issues in my earlier post: Minimum Retail Price Policy (i.e.,
controls). For those that are still interested in the subject and are
of the "pilot persuasion" here's an update of what you can expect at
the Oshkosh show this year. You may recall from my previous post that
I relayed information from a friend Garmin's new price policy on
the GPSMAP 296 at SunNFun. Well, if you are headed to EAA's Oshkosh
show this year, there is good and bad news. Good news: The older
GPSMAP 196 will be cheaper this year at about $795. More Good news:
There will be new low-end handhelds in B&W and color to replace the
aging GPS III Pilot and GPSMAP 295. The new handhelds will both be in
the GPSMAP 76 form factor. (Not sure if that's a great design for yoke
mounting, but I'll leave that to pilots to decide.) Bad news? ALL
MODELS will now be under the Minimum Retail Price Policy, meaning no
dealer at the show will be competing with another dealer. Buy from
whoever you like, 'cause they can't sell it to you any cheaper. Any
dealer that screws up and offers free shipping, a package deal, or
discounted accessory will be canceled by Garmin. Garmin has now fixed
prices on all their aviation products. It will be just a matter of
time before they do the same in the automotive, outdoor and marine
product lines. Happy shopping!

-Bill


(for more info, see sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup)

Minimum retail pricing is not illegal. It's called MSRP, under another
name. For example, all the video game console manufacturers have been
doing it for years. What stores do is tell people to call for special
pricing when they have it available. Garmin would be making a big
mistake if they were to cancel dealers who sell product at anything
below their min pricing guideline, or who offer incentives that have
nothing to do with the price of the units, because the media (myself
included) would not look kindly at such actions.

I will make it a point to check on this at OSH. If anyone has evidence
that a dealer has been cancelled or otherwise penalized for offering an
incentive like the ones described above, come to the Aero-News trailer
at the Media Center and let us know.

Juan

The line is not as thick as some people think. MRP is MSRP with contractual
teeth. If Garmin is threatening dealers at OSH with dismissal from the
dealer program if they offer incentives like free shipping, they're
stepping over the line, IMO. Somehow I find it a little hard to believe
that Garmin would do that, though. They don't strike me as that kind of
company.

John wrote in :

There's quite a difference between Minimun retail pricing and MSRP
(manufacturers suggested retail price).
John



Juan Jimenez wrote:



(for more info, see sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup)

Minimum retail pricing is not illegal. It's called MSRP, under another
name. For example, all the video game console manufacturers have been
doing it for years. What stores do is tell people to call for special
pricing when they have it available. Garmin would be making a big
mistake if they were to cancel dealers who sell product at anything
below their min pricing guideline, or who offer incentives that have
nothing to do with the price of the units, because the media (myself
included) would not look kindly at such actions.

I will make it a point to check on this at OSH. If anyone has evidence
that a dealer has been cancelled or otherwise penalized for offering an
incentive like the ones described above, come to the Aero-News trailer
at the Media Center and let us know.

Juan