5 ms·

Is there something preventing stores from selling these for more money?

by mitchdoogle 5y ago

neaden 5y ago
They are being stolen, so selling them for more would just make it even more likely to get shoplifted.
- dariusj18 5y ago
  That's not what the article is talking about. "in response to reports of violent confrontations related to the collectibles"
MisterBastahrd 5y ago
MRP and MAP mostly. Retailers usually have agreements with vendors to sell at the manufacturer's retail price and to advertise at the manufacturer's advertised price. This came out of a 2007 Supreme Court decision: Leegin Leather Products vs. PSKS Inc. I only know about this because I used to purchase a lot of cigars from a large volume discounter and they were forced to raise prices dramatically due to the outcome of that ruling. Pokemon cards are a gambling racket. No manufacturer is going to be happy with their direct customers raising the bar to entry on said racket.
- shadowgovt 5y ago
  MAP is a factor online too. Google Shopping, Amazon marketplace... All of them have MAP as an input field for data providers that describe products they make. In Google's case, it creates a floor on the value that Shopping will list for the price of a product (though you can sometimes find cheaper via a non-Shopping main page search, or by going through the main portal of an online retailer).
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Joker_vD 5y ago
  In the USSR, when it still existed, retail prices were stamped on the items at the manufacturing plant, because of how stable the prices (and the economy in general) were. After the collapse, this practice had stopped entirely for obvious reasons. So the fact that such a thing as "manufacturer's retail prices" still exist, in the USA of all places, and that they apparently has some legal weight was a surprise to me. TIL.
  - MisterBastahrd 5y ago
    Well, I guess you can consider a manufacturer to be either an actual manufacturing company that sells directly to wholesalers or retailers OR a company that owns a brand which purchases product in bulk to sell to wholesalers or retailers. Either way, a lot of companies want their products to be seen in a certain "class" of products, and it's harder to maintain that brand image from a pricing standpoint if everyone can just sell it at whatever they want. So, what happened at this large discount cigar place is that, like I said, they were doing something similar to Wal-Mart's strategy: sell a ton of product at a low profit margin and force manufacturers to come down in prices as a result. The manufacturers hated it because (a) their existence relied on the good will of this corporate behemoth, and (b) supplying so much product to the discounter meant less was available around the country for retail shops, which is essential to building brand loyalty. When Leegin happened, the discounter begrudgingly admitted that they would be forced to raise prices. But not before buying out a few accessory manufacturers. While not as popular as simply discounting cigars, it sorta worked for them. They would sell a box of cigars at the lowest price that they could and then include a free humidor to store them in. And what collector of stuff doesn't want another container for their stuff? I'll say too, that some manufacturers simply refused to do business with the volume discounter until after Leegin. They had built up a market for themselves with independent shops without needing to go to the volume discounter... but after they could be ensured that their prices would be stable, they opened the floodgates.
    - Joker_vD 5y ago
      > it's harder to maintain that brand image from a pricing standpoint if everyone can just sell it at whatever they want Does this apply to discounters only? The PS5 (and earlier, PS4) resellers are re-selling them at premium, but AFAIK Sony doesn't go after them, at all. > (b) supplying so much product to the discounter meant less was available around the country for retail shops ...don't supply to the discounter so much then? Don't the manufacturers usually supply the retail chains first and only then dump whatever left to the discounters anyhow?
5560675260 5y ago
This wouldn't be able to compete with online stores then.

Is there something preventing stores from selling these for more money?

neaden 5y ago

They are being stolen, so selling them for more would just make it even more likely to get shoplifted.

dariusj18 5y ago
That's not what the article is talking about. "in response to reports of violent confrontations related to the collectibles"

MisterBastahrd 5y ago

MRP and MAP mostly. Retailers usually have agreements with vendors to sell at the manufacturer's retail price and to advertise at the manufacturer's advertised price. This came out of a 2007 Supreme Court decision: Leegin Leather Products vs. PSKS Inc. I only know about this because I used to purchase a lot of cigars from a large volume discounter and they were forced to raise prices dramatically due to the outcome of that ruling. Pokemon cards are a gambling racket. No manufacturer is going to be happy with their direct customers raising the bar to entry on said racket.

shadowgovt 5y ago
MAP is a factor online too. Google Shopping, Amazon marketplace... All of them have MAP as an input field for data providers that describe products they make. In Google's case, it creates a floor on the value that Shopping will list for the price of a product (though you can sometimes find cheaper via a non-Shopping main page search, or by going through the main portal of an online retailer).
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Joker_vD 5y ago
In the USSR, when it still existed, retail prices were stamped on the items at the manufacturing plant, because of how stable the prices (and the economy in general) were. After the collapse, this practice had stopped entirely for obvious reasons. So the fact that such a thing as "manufacturer's retail prices" still exist, in the USA of all places, and that they apparently has some legal weight was a surprise to me. TIL.
- MisterBastahrd 5y ago
  Well, I guess you can consider a manufacturer to be either an actual manufacturing company that sells directly to wholesalers or retailers OR a company that owns a brand which purchases product in bulk to sell to wholesalers or retailers. Either way, a lot of companies want their products to be seen in a certain "class" of products, and it's harder to maintain that brand image from a pricing standpoint if everyone can just sell it at whatever they want. So, what happened at this large discount cigar place is that, like I said, they were doing something similar to Wal-Mart's strategy: sell a ton of product at a low profit margin and force manufacturers to come down in prices as a result. The manufacturers hated it because (a) their existence relied on the good will of this corporate behemoth, and (b) supplying so much product to the discounter meant less was available around the country for retail shops, which is essential to building brand loyalty. When Leegin happened, the discounter begrudgingly admitted that they would be forced to raise prices. But not before buying out a few accessory manufacturers. While not as popular as simply discounting cigars, it sorta worked for them. They would sell a box of cigars at the lowest price that they could and then include a free humidor to store them in. And what collector of stuff doesn't want another container for their stuff? I'll say too, that some manufacturers simply refused to do business with the volume discounter until after Leegin. They had built up a market for themselves with independent shops without needing to go to the volume discounter... but after they could be ensured that their prices would be stable, they opened the floodgates.
  - Joker_vD 5y ago
    > it's harder to maintain that brand image from a pricing standpoint if everyone can just sell it at whatever they want Does this apply to discounters only? The PS5 (and earlier, PS4) resellers are re-selling them at premium, but AFAIK Sony doesn't go after them, at all. > (b) supplying so much product to the discounter meant less was available around the country for retail shops ...don't supply to the discounter so much then? Don't the manufacturers usually supply the retail chains first and only then dump whatever left to the discounters anyhow?

5560675260 5y ago

This wouldn't be able to compete with online stores then.