Comments on: Court case could have far reaching affect on internet retailers

By: Liz Barton

Liz Barton — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:42:37 +0000

hey,really there is a scope to earn more money in the internet based business.one should have proper awareness regarding internet marketing, result oriented strategy and taking wise decisions at right time is so important for any business success.similar…..internet marketing

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 06:31:02 +0000

Yeah, this was news to me. The suprising part is the original court case is nearly 100 years old!

By: Chris Beasley

Chris Beasley — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:01:59 +0000

Then again I read that article and what do you know… it seems it is illegal.

Good thing I ignore those pricing constraints half the time anyways.

By: Chris Beasley

Chris Beasley — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:58:22 +0000

I would question your intrepretation of the law as in my experience this price fixing is hugely rampant. The majority of manufacturers & wholesalers I work with have minimum prices. I find it hard to believe so many would be doing something illegal.

By: rpanella

rpanella — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:36:46 +0000

Yeah Todd, magazine subscriptions fall under a different set of rules since you are selling a service (subscription) vs selling products. There are a lot of problems in the magazine industry though, as big players continue to sell under authorized prices while small players can be quickly terminated for trying to compete with them.

By: ToddW

ToddW — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:38:13 +0000

Note: My magazine example may be invalid since it’s “drop shipping” and you are not reselling a product you already purchased and have in stock.

By: ToddW

ToddW — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:33:35 +0000

Andrew - I’d love for more information regarding this court case. I’d like to present it to some companies who require you to sell for what they ask and see what they have to say

By: ToddW

ToddW — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:31:48 +0000

This wont change much but it will make it EASIER for manufactures to drop retailers but it’s not like it’s not happening already. One example that comes to mind is Rubicon Express (4×4/off-road parts). Their documents basically say you can NOT “offer” their products for sale for less than their asking price (MSRP). They don’t say you can’t sell for under MSRP just you can NOT promote for under their price. I’ve know people who have been dropped from them by promoting lower prices on their website.

Another example is magazine clearing houses have a required selling price if you sell for under the price they tell you then you risk an audit. If they audit you (3rd party) and find you selling under the required rate they will drop you. Not only can you not promote magazines under their required prices you have to prove the sale, deposit and transaction method to them.

By: Diorex

Diorex — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:52:48 +0000

Retail is a really tough game, especially for affiliates. Between returns and dropped cookies and not always getting paid for upsells (yes one retailer I tested told me I only got paid for items on the landing page, not anything else that ended up in the basket!) plus retailers showing different prices depending on if it is an affiliate link or not….Lots of issues that made me avoid almost everything where I got a percentage of the sale….