Outrageous Pricing!!

EurAzn12

EurAzn12

Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
405
Finally found what I thought would be a local gold mine (ZT, BM, CRKT, Kershaw, Cold Steel, H&K and SAK dealer with watches too). I've got some extra funds to drop on a new folder as well as looking for a father's day gift. Anyways I walk in to multiple shelves of knives and watches and my pocket starts burning. Then I look at prices! $220 for a 940-2... $150 for a regular grip in 154cm... $300! For a ZT 0562cf... The guy working said he'd do me a solid and cut $20 off a few if I bought something today. I thought MAP pricing would help regulate this ridiculousness?? Everything was $25-$100 more than what you'd see online or in a store from my back home state (OK). Anyways, he had almost every model BM and ZT so I got to play with a few including the new models then I politely said not today and walked out.

Anyone else see something like this locally? I'm almost kind of glad cause I would be a regular visitor if they had competitive prices (located in SoCal)
 
MAP pricing regulates the bottom line prices. My local places are pretty significantly higher than online.
 
JupiterPaladin said:
MAP pricing regulates the bottom line prices. My local places are pretty significantly higher than online.
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I gotcha. Some of the prices were just crazy. It was very frustrating. And the guy trying to talk to me about his good deals didn't help, especially since I probably knew 10x more about his products than he did (seemingly)
 
Yeah i see full retail prices alot at gun stores and big box stores. They dont sell well either, for obvious reasons.
 
Sigsog226 said:
Yeah i see full retail prices alot at gun stores and big box stores. They dont sell well either, for obvious reasons.
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Exactly, my local shop actually sells about 10% over MSRP.
 
EurAzn12 said:
Finally found what I thought would be a local gold mine (ZT, BM, CRKT, Kershaw, Cold Steel, H&K and SAK dealer with watches too). I've got some extra funds to drop on a new folder as well as looking for a father's day gift. Anyways I walk in to multiple shelves of knives and watches and my pocket starts burning. Then I look at prices! $220 for a 940-2... $150 for a regular grip in 154cm... $300! For a ZT 0562cf... The guy working said he'd do me a solid and cut $20 off a few if I bought something today. I thought MAP pricing would help regulate this ridiculousness?? Everything was $25-$100 more than what you'd see online or in a store from my back home state (OK). Anyways, he had almost every model BM and ZT so I got to play with a few including the new models then I politely said not today and walked out.

Anyone else see something like this locally? I'm almost kind of glad cause I would be a regular visitor if they had competitive prices (located in SoCal)
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I'm in SoCal too, and I've seen it. We may have seen it at the same place! Never know.
 
MAP = Minimum, Advertised, Price.

That means the online folks have to post up high prices and not undercut the mom and pop brick and mortar stores.

When you walk into a store and look at the stuff in person MAP doesn't apply. If the sticker prices are high that's because the dealer wants/needs that to stay in business. Now if they get it really wrong no one shops there and they go under. If they get the formula right the walk in traffic is happy to buy and the bills get paid.
 
Aias said:
I'm in SoCal too, and I've seen it. We may have seen it at the same place! Never know.
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Possibly, mall store in Carlsbad. Was on a venture to visit strider knives but their old building looked cleared out. Found the other store via Google on the way back home and was thoroughly disappointed. Honestly the place looked like it attracted zero traffic, not sure how long it's been there.
 
Danke42 said:
MAP = Minimum, Advertised, Price.

That means the online folks have to post up high prices and not undercut the mom and pop brick and mortar stores.

When you walk into a store and look at the stuff in person MAP doesn't apply. If the sticker prices are high that's because the dealer wants/needs that to stay in business. Now if they get it really wrong no one shops there and they go under. If they get the formula right the walk in traffic is happy to buy and the bills get paid.
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Actually it does, in most cases. The price is being "advertised" on the tag and in the vendors store/system. If the manufacturer finds out the vendor is selling the item for a significant discount consistently they can cancel any agreement for breach of contract. There is some leeway and exceptions of course, such as employee discounts, military/LEO discounts, but that is just about all there is and it's not the rule. Many vendors will have to sign a contract with the manufacturer to abide by the pricing structure of the items being sold. If they fail they risk losing that product line entirely.
 
RevDevil said:
Actually it does, in most cases. The price is being "advertised" on the tag and in the vendors store/system. If the manufacturer finds out the vendor is selling the item for a significant discount consistently they can cancel any agreement for breach of contract. There is some leeway and exceptions of course, such as employee discounts, military/LEO discounts, but that is just about all there is and it's not the rule. Many vendors will have to sign a contract with the manufacturer to abide by the pricing structure of the items being sold. If they fail they risk losing that product line entirely.
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Interesting; that's not how it was spun when it came out.

We get complaints all the time in the sporting goods world about dealer X selling for a too low price but most of the time it's a one off and no need for action. Anyone who'd have their agreement torn up would need to have a lot of critical problems with the way they run the place for that to happen. I've only seen it happen a couple times in 20 years.
 
My local Benchmade dealer prices are about what you would see online. The Spyderco and ZT dealer is a bit higher on their prices, it isn't anything close to what you are describing. I have heard of people over pricing items to leave room for bargaining, but prices like that would likely make me turn and go the other way.
 
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MAP programs do not dictate what a product has to be sold at. That would be price fixing. Only a floor that can be openly advertised. Once in person, the dealer can sell below cost if they want. Not smart, but could. Many manufacturers fix the pricing structures so no dealer in their right mind would want to sell below MAP. By setting MAP around 10% over cost. With brick and mortar overhead, it's not easy to survive on those points.
 
EurAzn12 said:
Possibly, mall store in Carlsbad. Was on a venture to visit strider knives but their old building looked cleared out. Found the other store via Google on the way back home and was thoroughly disappointed. Honestly the place looked like it attracted zero traffic, not sure how long it's been there.
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Gotcha--no, not the one I was thinking of, but I've been to Carlsbad many times--didn't know of a shop around there. Not surprised about it getting no traffic.
 
bflying said:
.... Many manufacturers fix the pricing structures so no dealer in their right mind would want to sell below MAP. By setting MAP around 10% over cost. With brick and mortar overhead, it's not easy to survive on those points.
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It is my understanding that Benchmade did not do that. They did not raise dealer cost on the knives but jacked the MAP price by 20 percent. And they have been raising prices ever since. Combine that with the elimination of some classic proven models and you're going upset people. I really like the Axis lock but BM is just getting out of hand, IMO.
 
whp said:
When the patent on the axis lock expires, does Benchmade soon follow? :eek:
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Could be. I would not be surprised if some of Benchmade's craziness is due to stress over the upcoming patent expiration date.
 
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