You didn't read down far enough....below that section is this:
Q: I own a small jewelry store and the manufacturer of TimeCo brand watches
recently dropped me as a dealer. I’m sure it’s because my competitors
complained that I sell below the suggested retail price. The explanation was
the manufacturer’s policy: its products should not be sold below the
suggested retail price, and dealers who do not comply are subject to
termination. Is it legal for the manufacturer to dictate my prices?
A: The law allows a manufacturer to have a policy that its dealers should
sell a product above a certain minimum price, and to terminate dealers that
do not honor that policy. Manufacturers may choose to adopt this kind of
policy because it encourages dealers to provide full customer service and
prevents other dealers, who may not provide full service, from taking away
customers and "free riding" on the services provided by other dealers. If
TimeCo got you to agree to maintain the suggested retail price, it would be
illegal. It also would be illegal if TimeCo agreed with your competitors to
drop you as a dealer to help maintain a price to which they had agreed.
However, a complaint from a competing retailer is not sufficient to prove
such an agreement, because the manufacturer may have decided independently
that its interests were better served by sticking with its policy.
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Now, what this suggests to me is that it IS legal to coerce a dealer into
compliance under threat of being dropped as a dealer. HOW this isn't
anti-competitive, God only knows.
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