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Garmin Price Fixing Post from other newsgroup
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Didn't the CD manufacturers get into hot water for setting what
amounted to a Minimum Retail Price Policy? I seem to remember getting a class action check for some pitiful amount of money as a result of that. As I remember they were convicted of giving advertising money to retailers that agreed to the fixed minimum price. I don't understand why Garmin would want to do this though. Maybe somebody more familiar with anti-trust issues can give the economic reason for these types of arrangements. I'd think they would want the money collected by the distributers to approach zero (from competition), leaving the potential of higher wholesale prices for them. (GaryP) wrote in message . com... (TripodBill) wrote in message ... 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 [snip] 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) "He who builds a better mouse trap...." This is the basis of our free enterprise system. If you don't like it then don't buy Garmin. Right now they (Garmin) are enjoying the fruit of having the right products at the right time and clearly there are many people willing (key word here) to pay Garmin's price for them. I certainly don't like the lack of competative choice for a GNS430 or GPSMap 296 but there is nothing that you or I can do other than spend our money elsewhere. I had hope when UPS Technologies released their GNX80 that it would spur a round of competative price reductions in the Garmin line. However Garmin quickly eliminated that threat and bought UPS Technologies. GaryP |
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#5
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"GaryP" wrote in message om... (Jay) wrote in message om... Didn't the CD manufacturers get into hot water for setting what amounted to a Minimum Retail Price Policy? When an entire industry fixes prices that is illegal. But we are talking about 1 manufacturer setting prices, their prices. I am sorry but there is nothing wrong with that. Now if Garmin, Bendix King, Lowrance and whomever all met in a smoke filled room and set minimum prices for all GPS equipment that would be a different story. The notion of filing a class action law suit against Garmin for establishing a minimum retail price on their products is silly. No one forces a shop to sell Garmin. A shop chooses to do so willingly and in order to become an authorized retailer agrees to Garmin's retail policies. But it is still only Garmin setting prices on Garmin products. Now Garmin can increase prices up until they exclude enough of the market to cause a drop in overall sales and therefore loose profits. Still their choice! Right now there are enough people willing to buy Garmin products at Garmin's current retail prices to keep there production line busy. Until another company comes along with as good of a product or better to challenge Garmin it is not going to change. Garmin is in the business to make money not friends. Gary P Well, I think you're correct: Garmin selling to retailers and requiring them to set minimum retail prices as a condition of selling to them is not a violation of the Sherman Act. It's not a violation either for us who consider the practice to be sleazy to shun Garmin like it is a skunk either. |
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"GaryP" wrote in message om... (Jay) wrote in message om... Didn't the CD manufacturers get into hot water for setting what amounted to a Minimum Retail Price Policy? When an entire industry fixes prices that is illegal. But we are talking about 1 manufacturer setting prices, their prices. I am sorry but there is nothing wrong with that. Now if Garmin, Bendix King, Lowrance and whomever all met in a smoke filled room and set minimum prices for all GPS equipment that would be a different story. The notion of filing a class action law suit against Garmin for establishing a minimum retail price on their products is silly. No one forces a shop to sell Garmin. A shop chooses to do so willingly and in order to become an authorized retailer agrees to Garmin's retail policies. But it is still only Garmin setting prices on Garmin products. Now Garmin can increase prices up until they exclude enough of the market to cause a drop in overall sales and therefore loose profits. Still their choice! Right now there are enough people willing to buy Garmin products at Garmin's current retail prices to keep there production line busy. Until another company comes along with as good of a product or better to challenge Garmin it is not going to change. Garmin is in the business to make money not friends. Gary P Well, I think you're correct: Garmin selling to retailers and requiring them to set minimum retail prices as a condition of selling to them is not a violation of the Sherman Act. It's not a violation either for us who consider the practice to be sleazy to shun Garmin like it is a skunk either. |
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" jls" wrote in message . ..
Well, I think you're correct: Garmin selling to retailers and requiring them to set minimum retail prices as a condition of selling to them is not a violation of the Sherman Act. It's not a violation either for us who consider the practice to be sleazy to shun Garmin like it is a skunk either. Absolutely! But if only a few of us shun Garmin it will have little or no effect on their policy. As I said earlier too bad UPS Technologies ceased to exist as an alternative to Garmin. Until a viable competitor comes along Garmin will continue to reap the profits of their success and mandate uniform minimum pricing from their dealers. GaryP |
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I have a Garmin product myself, and its a really a piece of kit, but
my question is what are the reasons that make it advantagious for a company to set this type of pricing policy? (GaryP) wrote in message om... " jls" wrote in message . .. Well, I think you're correct: Garmin selling to retailers and requiring them to set minimum retail prices as a condition of selling to them is not a violation of the Sherman Act. It's not a violation either for us who consider the practice to be sleazy to shun Garmin like it is a skunk either. Absolutely! But if only a few of us shun Garmin it will have little or no effect on their policy. As I said earlier too bad UPS Technologies ceased to exist as an alternative to Garmin. Until a viable competitor comes along Garmin will continue to reap the profits of their success and mandate uniform minimum pricing from their dealers. GaryP |
#9
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Jay wrote:
I have a Garmin product myself, and its a really a piece of kit, but my question is what are the reasons that make it advantagious for a company to set this type of pricing policy? Instead of OSHKOSH ( spread out over many many square miles ) lets say you went to a trade show in an arena. There is the Garmin booth and as you walked around you realized that there were also a dozen Garmin dealers with their own smaller booths spread out throughout the arena. Now Garmin is selling the hot XYZ unit for $1000 but the small print says that dealers may sell for less. Your frugal and want to save a buck so what do you do. You start walking and talking. Now after you've gone to all or most of the independent dealers and weaseled ten bucks off this one, and then played him against another dealer for another fifteen bucks, and then munched a hot dog as you bargained for even more money off from the third, sixth, ninth, fifteenth, dealer, etc., getting sore feet in the process and starting to hear the occaissional dealer tell you to F OFF because they are sick of you and a couple hundred others playing that game, what are you going to do. Well sooner of later common sense and those tired feet of yours are going to tell you that you've gotten the best deal possible and it's time to cut bait and put your money where your mouth is. And if you finally get that absolutely spectacular deal for lets say $875 and while gloating to your friends about how it was worth all that time and energy, someone else slides by and shows you their receipt for the same product for lets say $845 perhaps from the very same person you bought your unit from, what are you going to do. I'll tell you what your going to do..... The same as everybody else in the same boat is gonna do. YOU ARE GOING TO GO AND BITCH AT GARMIN. Now I don't know what city you live in but if there is more than one McDonalds, KFC, Safeway, Piggly Wiggly, Qwikie Mart,.... do you ever notice that they all sell their products for the same price in the same market area. Try going to a 7-11 and offer the owner 50 cents less for a pack of smokes or you will go to another 7-11 and see what they say. This is why all of those food vendors at OSHKOSH are brought together for a little chat from the organizers and are reminded that under their vendors agreement with OSHKOSH that there is to be consistency in the pricing of common items like, water, corn dogs cheeseburger, etc. You might not like paying 4 bucks for a jug of water but you would like it a lot less if you found someone a half mile away selling it for 2. So if nothing else you know that when you walk around OSHKOSH and your feet are sore, the kids are bitching, and your thirsty, that since various vendors are selling an identical product, that at least they all are selling it at an identical price. |
#10
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"Reality Check 101" wrote in message
... snip So if nothing else you know that when you walk around OSHKOSH and your feet are sore, the kids are bitching, and your thirsty, that since various vendors are selling an identical product, that at least they all are selling it at an identical price. Makes you want to reach out and embrace Lenin, doesn't it? Rich "To each according. . . " S. |
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