Did I miss something?

[Bastler]

I was shopping for a Buck 110 and I saw that all the dealers that I checked had exactly the same price. Same for the 112, 500 and 501. Has Buck implemented retail price controls?

 

[jlauffer]

I was shopping for a Buck 110 and I saw that all the dealers that I checked had exactly the same price. Same for the 112, 500 and 501. Has Buck implemented retail price controls?

Sounds like MAP

 

[Hickory n steel]

I dont know, but I do know that the cheapest place you'll find a 110 is your local WM.
They sell so many of them they can keep the price at around $35, and I've even heard of people getting them for $20 around Christmas.

I do not know what MAP pricing is, but I'm betting that prices simply keep steady since Buck has been making them so long

 

[OrangeBlueOrangeBlue]

I dont know, but I do know that the cheapest place you'll find a 110 is your local WM.
They sell so many of them they can keep the price at around $35, and I've even heard of people getting them for $20 around Christmas.

I do not know what MAP pricing is, but I'm betting that prices simply keep steady since Buck has been making them so long

MAP = minimum advertised price (retailers can't advertise a price below whatever floor the manufacturer sets, or risks losing their ability to get product from that company).

 

[Hickory n steel]

MAP = minimum advertised price (retailers can't advertise a price below whatever floor the manufacturer sets, or risks losing their ability to get product from that company).

Doesn't sound like something Buck would do, but they are. Business after all and I could be missing something.

Their goal tends to be offering excellent knives at a reasonable price, especially with their mainstay line in 420hc, the quality always exceeds the price because they use volume of sales to keep the cost down.

 

[MarkN86]

Buck did recently institute a MAP policy.

 

[Bastler]

Buck did recently institute a MAP policy.

Thanks for the clarification, I had suspected that was the case. Just as well, I certainly don't need another knife. I already have one for every occasion.

 

[Henry Beige]

MAP sounds like an anti-trust violation to me. It might not be, but a DOJ worthy of the name would at least look into it. Don’t expect much from an anti-consumer administration, however,

 

[craytab]

MAP sounds like an anti-trust violation to me. It might not be, but a DOJ worthy of the name would at least look into it. Don’t expect much from an anti-consumer administration, however,

We've been over this a thousand times on this forum, I'll save you the time in looking those many threads up: it's not.

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

MAP sounds like an anti-trust violation to me. It might not be, but a DOJ worthy of the name would at least look into it. Don’t expect much from an anti-consumer administration, however,

I don't see any antitrust issue with it.(I'm not an attorney) It doesn't attempt to monopolize or prohibit trade in any way. It simply controls the price that retailers are allowed to advertise the product for.

I believe the point of MAP in the knife world was simply to prevent high volume online retailers from completely crippling brick and mortars by selling knives at tiny margins.

They could still sell them at tiny margins mind you, they're just not allowed to advertise that price. That's why you occasionally see the "view our price in cart" sort of thing.

 

[Danke42]

MAP sounds like an anti-trust violation to me. It might not be, but a DOJ worthy of the name would at least look into it. Don’t expect much from an anti-consumer administration, however,

For it to be Anti-Trust Buck would need to be colluding with Case, and Vic, and Benchmade and so on to sent across the board price agreements between the brands.

Is that what's happening here?

 

[Bastler]

MAP has been common with knife manufacturers for years. I just didn't think that Buck would get on that wagon. The increase in prices has motivated me to buy fewer knives, which is a good thing. Fer cryin' out loud, I can see five knives on my desk without even turning my head.

 

[afishhunter]

MAP has been common with knife manufacturers for years. I just didn't think that Buck would get on that wagon. The increase in prices has motivated me to buy fewer knives, which is a good thing. Fer cryin' out loud, I can see five knives on my desk without even turning my head.

How many more are not in sight because they are in your pocket or on your belt?

 

[MarkN86]

It's not about Buck Knives being greedy and wanting more money, it's about keeping small businesses afloat. They are trying to help local knife shops, this is pro-small business and not anti-consumer.

If Buck wanted to make more money they would just raise their prices. MAP prices are still well below MSRP.

 

[evilgreg]

MAP sounds like an anti-trust violation to me. It might not be, but a DOJ worthy of the name would at least look into it. Don’t expect much from an anti-consumer administration, however,

Companies have had MAP through many presidents, what does the current administration have to do with it?

I hate MAP as much as the next guy but just because it's annoying and scummy-feeling doesn't mean it's illegal.

 

[Henry Beige]

For it to be Anti-Trust Buck would need to be colluding with Case, and Vic, and Benchmade and so on to sent across the board price agreements between the brands.

Not necessarily. An agreement between a manufacturer and a retailer for MAP could be construed as a vertical price fix. An attempt to restrict actual selling price would be a violation. There are a lot of ways a MAP policy could go wrong. I’m not an anti-trust lawyer either, and can quickly get out of my depth. In fact, it looks like I already have.

 

[Bastler]

How many more are not in sight because they are in your pocket or on your belt?

Two in my pockets and let's just say, uh, several in the drawer behind me.

 

[rick melear]

Minimum Advertised Pricing, you can sell them for what you want. At least this is what I’ve seen.

 

[Sharp Steel]

I don't see any antitrust issue with it.(I'm not an attorney) It doesn't attempt to monopolize or prohibit trade in any way. It simply controls the price that retailers are allowed to advertise the product for.

I believe the point of MAP in the knife world was simply to prevent high volume online retailers from completely crippling brick and mortars by selling knives at tiny margins.

They could still sell them at tiny margins mind you, they're just not allowed to advertise that price. That's why you occasionally see the "view our price in cart" sort of thing.

What you say makes perfect sense. A certain one or two companies doing boat loads of business selling everything under the sun can put a really low price on knives that the smaller companies can't match without going under. Seems more like leveling the playing field for all sellers, to me.

 

[eveled]

Thanks for the clarification, I had suspected that was the case. Just as well, I certainly don't need another knife. I already have one for every occasion.

Do as you wish, but that is a silly reason to not buy a knife. It just means you won’t be able to find an advertised bargain. MAP is still way below MSRP.