CRK Dealers selling at discount

[ti lock]

I hesitate to post this but this is a real issue in my mind... It may be great for the buyer but not for CRK dealers who play by the rules.

There are a couple of CRK dealers that are discounting CRK knives and i have brought this issue to CRK's attention ... For over a month, I have watched two CRK dealers selling at discount and they are rather large dealers.

Yes discounting new CRK knives. There may be others but there are two that I have found.

I hope that legit CRK dealers will encourage CRK to end their relationship with any dealer that violates their agreement with CRK to not sell at discount.

 

[Wrobelan]

You're definitely ahead of the game. I usually check around 1-2 a week and haven't seen anything strange. It will be interesting to see what CRK does, if anything.

 

[kidcongo]

I'm a Canadian, so my take on this issue only has so much relevance, but enforcing the sold price of an item between independent dealerships is essentially "price fixing", and is against the law in Canada, as would be punishing a dealer who "doesn't follow the rules". I would welcome a move away from this practise by CRK. I think it would also hold true to CRKs own patriotic leanings as an American company. I think it is essentially un-American, in spirit, to tell someone how much profit they are allowed to make, or how competetive they want to be, when reselling a product.

Don't hate.....just my honest opinion.

A reasonable and brief statement about price-fixing north of the 49th parallel:

http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/h_00112.html

Price-fixing
The provisions 45, 46 and 48 of the Competition Act prohibit agreements between two or more persons to prevent or unduly lessen competition or to unreasonably enhance the price of a product. Agreements between competitors to fix prices, to allocate customers or geographic markets, or to restrict production of a product by setting quotas among competitors or other means are considered to be "hard-core" cartel activities, with no socially redeeming features. Anti-competitive agreements harm both consumers and businesses, and enforcing the conspiracy provisions is an important priority for the Bureau. Much of the Bureau's work in this area involves investigating and prosecuting international cartels, which is a crucial activity for competition agencies around the world.

Price-fixing conspiracies are by their nature difficult to detect and prove. Suspicions and evidence of identical prices are not enough to prove a criminal offence. Securing a cartel conviction under Canadian laws requires the Competition Bureau to submit evidence that proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, that there is an agreement between competitors to fix prices, and that the agreement is likely to have a significant impact on competition.

Penalties for price-fixing include fines up to $10 million, imprisonment to a maximum term of five years, or both. Courts also can impose orders to prevent the parties to a conspiracy from continuing or repeating the offence.

Date modified: 2015-11-05

 

[ti lock]

CRK requires dealers to sign an agreement to not discount knives. There is no legal action involved but CRK has a right to not sell to any dealer that violate this gentleman's agreement -- as I understand it...

I know that swarovski will not sell to their dealers who violate a similar agreement... Ultimately the value of CRKs will go down if it becomes a free for all.... just my opionion

My living hardly depends on selling knives but it is nice to have a level playing field...

 

[bhyde]

ti lock-

Please do not take this the wrong way. It's not intended to pick on you..I understand your position on this as does many others I'm sure.

Bladeforums has little to do with the policies that manufacturers have and enforce. We are simply a community to appreciate and discuss knives.
Individual policies are probably best taken up with the folks at Chris Reeve Knives and should not be made for the consumption of the general public.

To be sure, Chris Reeve Knives would most certainly appreciate this to be a private matter between themselves and their authorized dealers.

Feel free to email me or send me a pm if you feel that closing of this thread is unwarranted as I really do not mean any disrespect to any of the fine members of this community.


Bill