5 ms·
From the article: "PNW wasn’t the only business growing tired of Amazon. Kerson and his team asked buyers at every retailer who stocks PNW parts to remove them
by IncRnd 5y ago
From the article: "PNW wasn’t the only business growing tired of Amazon. Kerson and his team asked buyers at every retailer who stocks PNW parts to remove them from their Amazon stores too, so that everyone involved could maximize their profits and not undercut each other." ... “We set up these calls and we were not expecting them to go very well,” says Marshall, “As soon as we started talking about it the buyers were really excited.”
From the FTC: "Price fixing is an agreement (written, verbal, or inferred from conduct) among competitors that raises, lowers, or stabilizes prices or competitive terms ... Price fixing relates not only to prices, but also to other terms that affect prices to consumers, such as shipping fees, warranties, discount programs, or financing rates. Antitrust scrutiny may occur when competitors discuss the following topics: ..., Capacity, Identity of customers, ... Defendants may not justify their behavior by arguing that the prices were reasonable to consumers, were necessary to avoid cut-throat competition, or stimulated competition." [1]
Is there a lawer who can say if that was price fixing?
[1] https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/dealings-competitors/price-fixing https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-a...
- r00fus 5y agoIs avoiding a major adversary/predatory channel considered price-fixing?
- Wohlf 5y agoYes, if the effect/methods is the same.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- dstaley 5y agoIANAL, but I think this would qualify as a resale price maintenance agreement[1], which is legal at a federal level and in most (but not all!) states. I guess it really depends on what exactly "not undercut each other" entailed. [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/resale_price_maintenance_agreements https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/resale_price_maintenance_agr...
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- hogFeast 5y agoThe US used to have "fair trade" laws with these kind of agreements. These were used to protect independent grocers from chain department stores...they were the Amazon of the 1940/50s. Plus ca change. But the legality of this kind of thing depends on the circumstances. From what I have read, it seems unlikely to be illegal (it is perfectly normal for a manufacturer to supply a product and attempt to stop a buyer selling into a particular channel) but I am not sure it is a great idea to say you are doing this specifically to increase prices. To give you an example I came across recently, when Sony came to the US they dealt with US wholesalers. Some wholesalers would sell to product to retailers who wanted to aggressively discount product. So Sony eventually stopped selling to wholesalers, and sold directly to retailers who wouldn't discount their product. It is a fine line but the manufacturer always has the choice of not selling to a certain buyer anyway (and tbf, as dollar stores have shown, some retailers will get around the manufacturer's rules anyway). So I don't think it is particularly unreasonable for a manufacturer to tell customers to stop putting product into a certain channel, and it probably isn't anticompetitive (because it doesn't limit the ability of competitors to sell on Amazon).
- cascom 5y agoIf the conversation is had between PNW and customer (local bike store) - that doesn’t seem to be conversation between competitors?
- IncRnd 5y agoMy understanding from the article is that it was a phone conversation between PNW and all their retail stores, which were each customers. The customers were all competitors of each other, which is why they discussed how to not undercut each other.
- ec109685 5y ago"maximize their profits and not undercut each other" This is another way of saying, "charge the customer more". While this may work in the short term, there is likely another parts company that will not feel this way and once again look to sell on Amazon since they'll be able to undercut while still making a profit.
- notatoad 5y agoEspecially since PNW (mostly?) Doesn't make their own products - they put their brand on a bunch of generic products that get sold by various different brands, and act as a distributor and marketer. If people want to buy on Amazon for less, somebody else can buy parts from the same OEMs and sell them on Amazon.
- gnopgnip 5y agoIf they don't actually increase prices for consumers, because they all collectively save money not paying amazon fees it is unlikely to be an antitrust violation
- IncRnd 5y agoDid you read the first paragraph of the FTC link I posted? I put the quote in the comment. It seems to strongly disagree with you.