7 ms·

If they’re the sole US distributor doesn’t that mean they’re the only ones allowed to sell them in the US?

by namdnay 5y ago

wizzwizz4 5y ago
So if I buy one, I'm not allowed to sell it after I'm done with it? That's irregular, to say the least.
- TheSpiceIsLife 5y ago
  Do we all agree, dear reader, there's a distinction between distributor and you selling your used kitchen tools? If you, dear reader, had a sole distributor agreement with an OEM would you do what you could to protect your reputation and the brand?
  - powersnail 5y ago
    Genuine question: what is the distinction between a consumer and a distributor in the context of rights of selling an item that they own? Which law prohibits the distributor from selling thermometers that they own? How come an agreement between ETI and Thermoworks have any legal power over anybody else?
    - jjeaff 5y ago
      It doesn't. If you don't have a contract with pricing stipulations, then you have no obligation to sell at MSRP or MAP.
    - mike_d 5y ago
      An exclusive distributor agreement usually means within a given territory, only a single party may buy product from the manufacturer or buy at below MSRP (depending on the agreement). This is not enforced by law, but by a contractual agreement. You can always buy the product at retail, from another country, or directly from the manufacturer (if they will sell to you) and sell the product at retail.
- Inhibit 5y ago
  Not on Amazon. They do make actual no-sale agreements with manufacturers (looking at you, Warner Media) to not sell used product and boot anyone who tries. Which, ah, is great right until they're a near monopoly. But this looks more like the reseller is trying to wreak havoc with lawful competition sans an agreement with Amazon. They may not look kindly on it if they see what's happening. Competition where it's not being intentionally stifled is the business model.
Thorrez 5y ago
First-sale doctrine says if you buy something, you have the right to resell it. I'm not exactly sure what sole distributor means. I think it means that ETI will try to refuse bulk sales to anyone else in the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine
- namdnay 5y ago
  First sale is only for consumers right? I mean it wouldn’t apply if you’re doing it multiple times for profit. Honest question, I really don’t know
  - jjeaff 5y ago
    First sale doctrine applies to businesses as well.
    - namdnay 5y ago
      ah good to know! I found "Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.", I wonder if it's related, or if physical goods were already considered resaleable anyway One side question: how do you manage the warranty? Presumably as the reseller you will need to handle the legal minimum warranty (how long is that in the US?) by shipping the article yourself back to the UK?
      - mike_d 5y ago
        > you will need to handle the legal minimum warranty With the exception of specific types of products (cars) or situations where consumers are gravely at risk (recalls), there is no mandatory warranty in the US. Your only requirement as a reseller is to pass on any warranty from the manufacturer, and allow customers to read a written warranty before making a purchase.
        Spooky23 5y ago
        Not true. There are implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. It’s one of the reasons why Amazon takes such pains to make the questionable assertion that they are at arms length for every transaction. Fraudulent or grey market stuff often fails the fitness test. The same crap used to happen with fake cameras and electronics in Manhattan. The stores would “go out of business” and reopen the next day under a new guise to avoid legal consequences. Now you just create a new merchant on Amazon.
sfifs 5y ago
I don't know why you're getting down voted as it's a common misconception. Sole distributorship means your company is the only one in a particular territory that the *manufacturer* will sell to directly - usually in exchange for KPIs around marketing, distribution and maybe service in addition to sales. Anyone else can buy it in an outside territory - for example from another distributor or even from the manufacturer itself (strange things are known to happen when people's incentives are tied to sales targets) and sell it in your territory. While this is often called "grey channel" or "parallel imports", this is perfectly legal if the importer pays customs duty etc and invariably seems to happen if there is significant price differentiation between territories. The way to combat grey channel is to price right across territories in a way that it's not worth anyone's while to do parallel imports.
- tw04 5y ago
  It also generally means you have no warranty from the manufacturer, as they generally write the agreement to be non-transferable. As a consumer you may have some rights even with gray market, but it's not like a US court is going to be able to force a UK company to honor a warranty they never offered in the first place because they never sold directly into this market.
  - namdnay 5y ago
    > it's not like a US court is going to be able to force a UK company to honor a warranty they never offered in the first place because they never sold directly into this market And if there is an official distributor, they suddenly need to start investigating where every customer got their widget from, because they can't afford to provide warranties on items they didn't get the original markup on
    - yaur 5y ago
      In this case though Thermoworks has their own branding on Thermapens sold through official channels. If someone were to copy that branding I believe it would be a legitimate counterfeiting situation.
- 5y ago

If they’re the sole US distributor doesn’t that mean they’re the only ones allowed to sell them in the US?

wizzwizz4 5y ago

So if I buy one, I'm not allowed to sell it after I'm done with it? That's irregular, to say the least.

TheSpiceIsLife 5y ago
Do we all agree, dear reader, there's a distinction between distributor and you selling your used kitchen tools? If you, dear reader, had a sole distributor agreement with an OEM would you do what you could to protect your reputation and the brand?
- powersnail 5y ago
  Genuine question: what is the distinction between a consumer and a distributor in the context of rights of selling an item that they own? Which law prohibits the distributor from selling thermometers that they own? How come an agreement between ETI and Thermoworks have any legal power over anybody else?
  - jjeaff 5y ago
    It doesn't. If you don't have a contract with pricing stipulations, then you have no obligation to sell at MSRP or MAP.
  - mike_d 5y ago
    An exclusive distributor agreement usually means within a given territory, only a single party may buy product from the manufacturer or buy at below MSRP (depending on the agreement). This is not enforced by law, but by a contractual agreement. You can always buy the product at retail, from another country, or directly from the manufacturer (if they will sell to you) and sell the product at retail.
Inhibit 5y ago
Not on Amazon. They do make actual no-sale agreements with manufacturers (looking at you, Warner Media) to not sell used product and boot anyone who tries. Which, ah, is great right until they're a near monopoly. But this looks more like the reseller is trying to wreak havoc with lawful competition sans an agreement with Amazon. They may not look kindly on it if they see what's happening. Competition where it's not being intentionally stifled is the business model.

Thorrez 5y ago

First-sale doctrine says if you buy something, you have the right to resell it. I'm not exactly sure what sole distributor means. I think it means that ETI will try to refuse bulk sales to anyone else in the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine

namdnay 5y ago
First sale is only for consumers right? I mean it wouldn’t apply if you’re doing it multiple times for profit. Honest question, I really don’t know
- jjeaff 5y ago
  First sale doctrine applies to businesses as well.
  - namdnay 5y ago
    ah good to know! I found "Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.", I wonder if it's related, or if physical goods were already considered resaleable anyway One side question: how do you manage the warranty? Presumably as the reseller you will need to handle the legal minimum warranty (how long is that in the US?) by shipping the article yourself back to the UK?
    - mike_d 5y ago
      > you will need to handle the legal minimum warranty With the exception of specific types of products (cars) or situations where consumers are gravely at risk (recalls), there is no mandatory warranty in the US. Your only requirement as a reseller is to pass on any warranty from the manufacturer, and allow customers to read a written warranty before making a purchase.
      - Spooky23 5y ago
        Not true. There are implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. It’s one of the reasons why Amazon takes such pains to make the questionable assertion that they are at arms length for every transaction. Fraudulent or grey market stuff often fails the fitness test. The same crap used to happen with fake cameras and electronics in Manhattan. The stores would “go out of business” and reopen the next day under a new guise to avoid legal consequences. Now you just create a new merchant on Amazon.

sfifs 5y ago

I don't know why you're getting down voted as it's a common misconception. Sole distributorship means your company is the only one in a particular territory that the *manufacturer* will sell to directly - usually in exchange for KPIs around marketing, distribution and maybe service in addition to sales. Anyone else can buy it in an outside territory - for example from another distributor or even from the manufacturer itself (strange things are known to happen when people's incentives are tied to sales targets) and sell it in your territory. While this is often called "grey channel" or "parallel imports", this is perfectly legal if the importer pays customs duty etc and invariably seems to happen if there is significant price differentiation between territories. The way to combat grey channel is to price right across territories in a way that it's not worth anyone's while to do parallel imports.

tw04 5y ago
It also generally means you have no warranty from the manufacturer, as they generally write the agreement to be non-transferable. As a consumer you may have some rights even with gray market, but it's not like a US court is going to be able to force a UK company to honor a warranty they never offered in the first place because they never sold directly into this market.
- namdnay 5y ago
  > it's not like a US court is going to be able to force a UK company to honor a warranty they never offered in the first place because they never sold directly into this market And if there is an official distributor, they suddenly need to start investigating where every customer got their widget from, because they can't afford to provide warranties on items they didn't get the original markup on
  - yaur 5y ago
    In this case though Thermoworks has their own branding on Thermapens sold through official channels. If someone were to copy that branding I believe it would be a legitimate counterfeiting situation.
5y ago