Is this against the law? - Fender's EU lawsuit

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311boogieman

311boogieman

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Lawsuit claims Fender practiced 'Resale Price Maintenance'

Basically pressuring retailers to sell at or above a certain minimum? Does that really affect Fender's competition or just their dealers? I was expecting price fixing or something but this doesn't appear to be that.

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/ge ... n_law.html




Does anyone know more about this or how this works?
 
As I understand, it's more about the dealers' competition rather than Fenders, and the law against setting a minimum price is to allow customers to shop around for the best price.
 
I read this. Just like my booze...
I want it cheap as the state allows!! :lol: :LOL:
Fender releases the guitars. Shops wanna gouge.
Crazy. :lol: :LOL:
 
As much as i love some of the laws that protect the consumer here, some of the shit that they are doing sometimes baffles me. IIRC they did this same thing to Nintendo back in the 90's.
 
I think this is frowned upon but lots of companies do it.

Supposedly it's to protect small retailers. A large business could sell at such low margins that local shops couldn't hope to compete. But it raises obvious concerns for consumers. I assume you could find a study supporting either approach over the long term
 
I think the musical instrument pricing is horse shit, and borders price-fixing, anyway.
For example, say you're shopping for a Les Paul Studio... Sweetwater, AMS, Zzounds, MF, and GC, everybody & their mom ALL list them at $1499. For those who don't know who, or who won't discount, how's that competitive pricing, when they're all the SAME?

Then they say "lowest price guarantee", when their advertised price is the same as everyone else's. It's a racket.
 
From what I read, this concerns EU law. Basically Fender set a minimum price and prevented dealers from selling or advertising under it. Even though Fender does it in the US with MAP, it is illegal in the EU(or some countries in it ), apparently open pricing is enforced to keep competition for the consumer as actuve as possible. In theory at least.

Its a tricky subject, do you let anyone set there own price including letting large retailer's undercut all the competition untill only they survive. Or do you force minimum pricing standards that stifle any competition. No one wins when the balance is overtly oneor the other
 
Great points.

I'm not arguing one way or the other.

I can see how the laws might be set up to protect the smaller shops. Nothing wrong with that I guess right? Before the Internet it probably made less of a difference. Not sure if/how this factors in but most shops that sell Fender (or x-brand) have to go through some rigorous steps to become 'certified'. The goal was to let those shops carry your instruments/amps with the reciprocity of the shop also taking in warranty repairs.

Again, not arguing one way or the other but for the smaller shops that was probably tougher to handle then say a Guitar Center. Now with the Internet - the brick and mortar mom and pops REALLY struggle.
 
311splawndude":3towafgc said:
Great points.

I'm not arguing one way or the other.

I can see how the laws might be set up to protect the smaller shops. Nothing wrong with that I guess right? Before the Internet it probably made less of a difference. Not sure if/how this factors in but most shops that sell Fender (or x-brand) have to go through some rigorous steps to become 'certified'. The goal was to let those shops carry your instruments/amps with the reciprocity of the shop also taking in warranty repairs.

Again, not arguing one way or the other but for the smaller shops that was probably tougher to handle then say a Guitar Center. Now with the Internet - the brick and mortar mom and pops REALLY struggle.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the manufacturers want brick and mortar stores (I think) so people can go demo them. But a huge online retailer can easily undercut the prices of a small brick and mortar store, so the minimum pricing is supposed to protect that, but it sure looks an awful lot like anti-consumer price fixing, but arguably it's a pro-consumer practice, because it's the only way to keep open a shop that can have these things in stock to play and try out.
 
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