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> A store cannot dictate how much you charge for a product at a different retailer Isn’t this exactly what is happening everywhere you see “we price match!” or
by goblin89 5y ago
> A store cannot dictate how much you charge for a product at a different retailer
Isn’t this exactly what is happening everywhere you see “we price match!” or “low price guarantee”?
Platforms can and do require sellers to provide the lowest price, and take whatever measures including offing violators from the platform if this means they suffer losses every time a buyer does their research.
Not even mentioning exclusivity clauses, which are very much legal and very much dictate your relationship with other distributors.
I’m not saying Apple is doing that, but there are so many precedents that I doubt this practice is illegal.
> they have no right to interfere with your business activity
If you choose to do business with them, they are literally taking part in your business activity. No one made you sign the contract (presumably you have done so in expectation of benefitting from the platform, which would attract users to you since its owner develops products that users want). Calling this “interference” is nonsensical.
- colejohnson66 5y agoNitpick: "We price match" is a store voluntarily taking a price cut for their customers. The other store "dictates" the price, but the first one can always end the sale if they wish.
- goblin89 5y agoWouldn’t this open such a platform to scams where a friend of the seller gets discounts by pointing to seller’s site with super-low prices? I’m not saying they do not take a cut voluntarily, but they must take measures if this happens too often with a particular seller.
- colejohnson66 5y agoUsually those ads have some fine print saying that their own terms of refusing a sale for whatever reason still apply. So if Store A is taking a loss on sales to force Store B to sell for cheaper, Store B can still refuse to sell you the product. "We price match" only applies if a sale actually goes to completion.
- goblin89 5y agoNot sure I get your point. Imagine store A is a platform like Booking.com, and store B is seller’s site. There is a complaint every day to store A that store B sells cheaper. Store A charges the customer less but pays the seller the same, taking a loss. Meanwhile, it turns out that those customers are friends of the seller, to whom the seller compensates the transaction plus some extra on top.