Garmin Price Fixing Post from other newsgroup

Subject: Garmin too big for their britches? (Fixed Pricing)
From: (TripodBill)
Date: 7/14/2004 12:09 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

Many readers appropriately picked up on one of the most important issues in my
earlier post: Minimum Retail Price Policy (i.e., controls). For those that are
still interested in the subject and are of the "pilot persuasion" here's an
update of what you can expect at the Oshkosh show this year. You may recall
from my previous post that I relayed information from a friend Garmin's new
price policy on the GPSMAP 296 at SunNFun. Well, if you are headed to EAA's
Oshkosh show this year, there is good and bad news. Good news: The older GPSMAP
196 will be cheaper this year at about $795. More Good news: There will be new
low-end handhelds in B&W and color to replace the aging GPS III Pilot and
GPSMAP 295. The new handhelds will both be in the GPSMAP 76 form factor. (Not
sure if that's a great design for yoke mounting, but I'll leave that to pilots
to decide.) Bad news? ALL MODELS will now be under the Minimum Retail Price
Policy, meaning no dealer at the show will be competing with another dealer.
Buy from whoever you like, 'cause they can't sell it to you any cheaper. Any
dealer that screws up and offers free shipping, a package deal, or discounted
accessory will be canceled by Garmin. Garmin has now fixed prices on all their
aviation products. It will be just a matter of time before they do the same in
the automotive, outdoor and marine product lines. Happy shopping!

-Bill Hicks


(for more info, see sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup)

On 15 Jul 2004 00:21:15 GMT, (TripodBill) wrote:

Subject: Garmin too big for their britches? (Fixed Pricing)
From: (TripodBill)
Date: 7/14/2004 12:09 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:
[...]
ALL MODELS will now be under the Minimum Retail Price
Policy, meaning no dealer at the show will be competing with another dealer.
Buy from whoever you like, 'cause they can't sell it to you any cheaper. Any
dealer that screws up and offers free shipping, a package deal, or discounted
accessory will be canceled by Garmin. Garmin has now fixed prices on all their
aviation products. It will be just a matter of time before they do the same in
the automotive, outdoor and marine product lines. Happy shopping!

-Bill Hicks


(for more info, see sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup)


This is occurring in many other sectors of the marketplace. It is my
understanding that Price Fixing is illegal, but it has become the norm
in the marketplace as far as I can see. Under the current
administration, it's unlikely that anyone will be indited, let alone
prosecuted. Welcome to the 21st century. :=(

Price fixing is illegal, but only at the level where retailers conspire to
fix prices. The courts have repeatedly held that manufacturers can enforce
mandatory pricing levels on their customers (the retailers). Thus Garmin is
perfectly free to set a minimum retail price for its products and even
refuse to do business with retailers that violate the policy.

You already see it in almost every sector of the economy, but you don't
notice it because it really only works for scarce, high demand items like
the Garmin 296.

C J Campbell wrote:

Thus Garmin is perfectly free to set a minimum retail price
for its products and even refuse to do business with
retailers that violate the policy.

And at Oskosh of all places can you blame them.

Imagine the chaos, confusion and ill will if Garmin had even ten
distributors, sales reps, independent agents, etc., each desperate
to make sales for their own boss, store, area, etc. each setting their
own price and listening to people like you tell them that another sales
rep quoted a lower price.

Can you imagine the howling if one of you bought a particular model for
say seven hundred bucks and while gloating about your great deal
someone else walked up to you with the identical product and laughed
at you because they only paid six hundred and twenty five.

You would be screaming at Garmin for being inconsistant in their
pricing, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada.....
and you all know it.

"Shiver Me Timbers" wrote in message
...
C J Campbell wrote:

Thus Garmin is perfectly free to set a minimum retail price
for its products and even refuse to do business with
retailers that violate the policy.

And at Oskosh of all places can you blame them.

Imagine the chaos, confusion and ill will if Garmin had even ten
distributors, sales reps, independent agents, etc., each desperate
to make sales for their own boss, store, area, etc. each setting their
own price and listening to people like you tell them that another sales
rep quoted a lower price.

Can you imagine the howling if one of you bought a particular model for
say seven hundred bucks and while gloating about your great deal
someone else walked up to you with the identical product and laughed
at you because they only paid six hundred and twenty five.

You would be screaming at Garmin for being inconsistant in their
pricing, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada.....
and you all know it.

You seem to know a great deal about "people like me." Or maybe not -- did
you detect some tone of complaint in my post? It was unintended, to be sure.
People who know me well would realize that I oppose any laws against price
fixing. I think you should be able to do business with whomever you like
whenever you like, and no government has the right to tell you what to
charge, who to sell to, or anything else. Government's role should be
strictly limited to preventing you from defrauding people.

If I buy something at a price and find it cheaper elsewhere, that is just
too bad. It was worth the higher price to me when I bought it, therefore it
continues to be worth that much to me. I don't go back to retailers and
complain they charged too much, unless the retailer has expressly given me a
guarantee that his is the lowest price. I stick with my agreements and I
expect others to honor theirs.

C J Campbell wrote:

did you detect some tone of complaint in my post?

Oh no..... I wasn't trying to put you personally on the spot.

In a nutshell I was just trying to say that when various people get
together at the same venue selling the same identical product as
representatives of a national company like Garmin, that from the
standpoint of the manufacturer it would make sense to make sure that
during that particular event that all sales reps were playing on the
same field.

Larry Dighera wrote:

This is occurring in many other sectors of the marketplace. It is my
understanding that Price Fixing is illegal, but it has become the norm
in the marketplace as far as I can see.

Then you do not understand what constitutes price fixing. It is illegal for two or
more manufacturers to make basically the same item and agree between them on the
prices they intend to charge. That's price fixing. The same is true if two or more
retailers get together and agree on a minimum price. The key factor in this is the
conspiracy.

It is perfectly legal for a manufacturer (such as Garmin) to dictate a minimum price
to a retailer on any product they make. That's not price fixing. That's what's going
on here, and it is (as you say) common practice in many fields.

George Patterson
In Idaho, tossing a rattlesnake into a crowded room is felony assault.
In Tennessee, it's evangelism.