Garmin Price Fixing Post from other newsgroup

Mainly to protect thier dealers..


"Jay" wrote in message
om...
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

From: "Rich S."
Date: 7/20/2004 4:24 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

"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.

Chapman shot Lenin a few years ago.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

"B2431" wrote in message
...

Chapman shot Lenin a few years ago.

Well gosh Dan - couldn't you come up with an appropriate Lenin/Lennon quote?

Rich "You don't bring me flowers, any more" S.

Date: 7/20/2004 7:20 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

"B2431" wrote in message
...

Chapman shot Lenin a few years ago.

Well gosh Dan - couldn't you come up with an appropriate Lenin/Lennon quote?

Rich "You don't bring me flowers, any more" S.

What, and and expend energy? Geeze, you are a demanding cuss.

"Religion is the opiate of the masses, wanna get stoned?" - Groucho Lenin, one
of the Lenin sisters.

Dan "I get my flours at the grocer's" U.S. Air Force, retired

"Rich S." wrote in message ...
Well gosh Dan - couldn't you come up with an appropriate Lenin/Lennon quote?

Rich "You don't bring me flowers, any more" S.

Common Rich, they both believed in a socialist utopia, just like Babbs.

Gary "Imagine all the people... P.

"GaryP" wrote in message
om...
"Rich S." wrote in message
...
Well gosh Dan - couldn't you come up with an appropriate Lenin/Lennon
quote?

Rich "You don't bring me flowers, any more" S.

Common Rich, they both believed in a socialist utopia, just like Babbs.

Gary "Imagine all the people... P.

All I can say to you guys is - - - - O no.

Rich S.

On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 06:52:56 -0700, "Rich S."
wrote:

"GaryP" wrote in message
. com...
"Rich S." wrote in message
...
Well gosh Dan - couldn't you come up with an appropriate Lenin/Lennon
quote?

Rich "You don't bring me flowers, any more" S.

Common Rich, they both believed in a socialist utopia, just like Babbs.

Gary "Imagine all the people... P.

All I can say to you guys is - - - - O no.

"Napoleon is standing
with his pants upon the floor,
there are naked painted people
on the poster on my door
John Lennon and his girlfriend
couldn't show me any more
Won't someone please arouse my purient interest?

Won't you let me look myself, instead of waving it at me,
Don't leave it hanging out and sagging, over everything I see
Don't take of off, 'til I'm ready, let me have my little dream....
Have mercy on my poor old purient interest!"

John Hartford, "The Purient Interest Blues"

Ron "Sorry, John and Yoko reminded me of this" Wanttaja

On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 20:47:47 GMT, "Bruce A. Frank"
wrote:

Hmmm, if Garmin's prices are realistically so out of line then that will
supply the stimulus for a competitor to bring a similar lower priced
product to market. Certainly one has the right to discriminate when he
either dislikes the company, the product they sell, the promotion
methods they use, or the person who represents them. These days if you
are a discriminating shopper better keep it quiet or someone will accuse
you of censorship. ;^)

I look at it a bit differently. I bought the Garmin 296 because of
the terrain collision avoidance page and the flight instrument page.
I have flown IMC with it on my dash many times already. If every
instrument in the airplane fails in IMC you can fly the thing using
the 296. In the helicopters it's particularly simple. Going into
Burbank the other day I had a co pilot in an MD-500 watching all the
actual flight instruments as I flew the approach using the 296. It
worked flawlessly.

I was able to trade my 295 in at Spruce and get a $700 rebate off the
price of the 296. The 296 and it's terrain avoidance database, EFIS
page and the standard navigational page are life saving. There is
almost no question that any practicing IFR pilot needs this device.
It's a matter of life or death in the right circumstances. So, it
cost me a grand! I'd write a check for my entire net worth in a
helicopter or an airplane in hard IFR conditions when the vacuum pump
and alternator crapped out and I was spiraling into the farm. This is
what the 296 is...a second chance. And with the lithium battery, it
stays up for 12 hours or more now too. My 295 crapped out in 1.5
hours on the best AA batteries I could buy. So, I needed the aircraft
electrics to run the damn thing through a cigarette lighter cord
(depends on the same electrical system as all the rest of the crap in
the panel).

Fixing prices? Well, I think Garmin did a great job on it and keeping
the price up does nothing but encourage other manufacturers to compete
and build an equivalent or better mouse trap. The profit motive is
amazing to R & D. What "keeping the price high" does is force the
rest of the industry to compete, make better electronics and recover
their investment when they do. I don't mind seeing Garmin recover
their investment. But, there's something else going on here. They
are forcing the retailers to sell it at a certain guaranteed margin.
What this does is make retailers want to carry GARMIN products because
they know they won't be undercut or that the profit margin on a
Magellan is necessarily better. It makes a retailer want to advertise
the product because they know that they can re coupe if they do.

I veiw it as a method of keeping everybody honest and not undercutting
the profit in the product. The product is not undermined to the point
that no one wants to carry it because they can buy it so much cheaper
on ebay. It's like pilot's salaries. Pilots have undercut each other
to the point that some new commuter pilots work for something like
$500 a month. Why?? Because if you don't take that job, somebody
else will. It degrades the whole industry to the point where people
are working for slavery wages. It undermines and undercuts the entire
profession. I feel the same way about a product like the 296.

I don't blame Garmin. Keep the price reasonable (remember that simple
panel mounted GPS's cost $2500) The 296 at $1600 bucks is a steal.

Keep it reasonable but guarantee each retailer that they won't be
undercut by someone who is willing to sell out for less. That keeps
the product price strong, it keeps the profit in it for all retailers
who carry it, and it makes the competition work harder to beter their
equipment to make the same profits.

BWB