Price Controls Spoil My Fun !

aji1 said:
I wouldn't call medication a "luxury item", not if you're sick anyway (botox, usually, or hair restoration cream would be luxuries). The consumers' choice is pretty meager as to whether the price of their prescribed meds are justified.
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salduchi said:
I was recently watching an extreme example of medication price fixing. The price for a critical drug went up 1000 percent. Not because the manufacturing costs went up but because the manufacturer deemed it a necessary drug and unless you wanted to die they would pay it. Many did die. And they pinned the pricing decision on one guy and he got locked up. But most companies aren’t so stupid or greedy but they still make ginormous profits. Medication a luxury? Rasputin, dude you are truly clueless.
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No one is entitled to medication. If you are poor and sick and can't afford medication, it would sure as hell look like a luxury item.
 
Rupestris said:
No one is entitled to medication. If you are poor and sick and can't afford medication, it would sure as hell look like a luxury item.
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lux·u·ry
ˈləkSH(ə)rē,ˈləɡZH(ə)rē/
noun
  1. 1.
    the state of great comfort and extravagant living.
    "he lived a life of luxury"
    synonyms: opulence, luxuriousness, sumptuousness, grandeur, magnificence, splendor, lavishness, the lap of luxury, a bed of roses, (the land of) milk and honey;
    informalthe life of Riley
    "we'll live in luxury"
adjective
  1. 1.
    luxurious or of the nature of a luxury.
    "a luxury yacht"
 
Rupestris said:
Good. Now Google 'perspective'.
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I understand. Example, my uncle had kidney failure. He needed regular dialysis. He lived in another country. He could not afford the regular weekly treatments. He died as a result of not receiving these treatments. He himself referred to the treatment as a luxury despite knowing the danger. So yes, from a certain perspective you can view treatment and or medication as a luxury but what you have to learn is that a luxury is something you can live without and a necessity is not.
 
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The original intent of MAP pricing (before the internet) was so that large retailers couldn't advertise products at a loss until they drove smaller retailers out of business in certain products/brands. When that happened the supplier would ultimately lose a customer (the retailer driven out of business) and the large retailer's purchase wouldn't pickup the shortfall ultimately hurting the supplier.

In practice it really only applies to "Advertised" prices, as it is illegal for a wholesaler/manufacturer to dictate pricing to retailers. In reality the kickbacks across multiple industries while not illegal price fixing or collusion on pricing, is essentially the same thing as far as the consumer is concerned. No retailer wants to lose their kickback and competitors turn in each other to the manufacturer/wholesaler when they see any lower than MAP ads. To sort of combat this there are timeframes of allowed advertising at lower than MAP pricing (supplier defined usually for the year) where everyone seems to have the same sale at the same time. This way consumers can get the deals where they want but the system holds fast the rest of the year.

A good way to determine is if your local shop even advertises prices at all. If not they should be able to give you a deal on products without fear of retribution, although in actual practice they don't really have to discount desired products either way.
 
salduchi said:
I understand. Example, my uncle had kidney failure. He needed regular dialysis. He lived in another country. He could not afford the regular weekly treatments. He died as a result of not receiving these treatments. Yes, from a certain perspective you can view treatment and or medication as a luxury but what you have to learn is that a luxury is something you can live without and a necessity is not.
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A necessity-it is. Unfortunately, in some places, it is looked upon as a luxury. Just like clean running water and a roof over your head.

Just like a certain knife can be looked upon as a luxury by those that can't afford it yet watch others' lives appear "enriched" by that knife or item.

I don't own a folder worth more than $120 (new, current price) and I like a value or lower price as much as the next guy, but, I do agree with set pricing and can see the value of MAP in a competitive market where small are forced to compete with the massive. It keeps the little guy, like the stores that support BF, in business.
 
sharp_edge said:
Unless discontinued or as dealer exclusives or sprint runs, I have yet seen any knife from major brands including ZT, Benchmade, and Spyderco that has this "add to your cart to see the actual (better) price" thing.
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craytab said:
God forbid a company sell its products for the price it wants. :cool:

Any dealer is free to sell anything the have at the price they want. And any maker is free to sell or not sell to any dealer based on the agreed upon end selling price.

Not unamerican at all. It's called business.
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Absolutely agree. And map was the last straw that ended my business with Benchmade. And that policy hasn t helped other companies attract my money.
So is more money made with higher profits or more volume? Companies have every right to choose their sales methods.
It is called business. And business usually benefits from making customers happy.
 
Honestly, I am so tired of hearing the whole Benchmade MAP nonsense. I have about 50 Benchmades and I pay on average 30% off MSRP and up to 50% off in rare cases.

Benchmades MAP hasn’t given me any issues finding deals. As an example, I paid $280 for a 485GRY-1801 just the other day or roughly 35% off MSRP.

Local dealer gives me 30% off regular items, 40% the annual constant run Gold Class knives. Another shop where my wife’s parents live does 30% off all items by default, then 25% off that on Black Friday. Another local shop does 20% off by default then 20% off that roughly 3 times a year.

If it’s a local shop and they don’t web advertise they can sell for whatever price they want as per what 2 shops told me when I asked how they sticker below MAP. (Key word advertised)
 
salduchi said:
And you can feel happy that they are juicing you for the maximum they think they can all without alienating too large of a segment of the knife buying community.
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Rupestris said:
They are charging exactly what the market will bear. Not a penny more.
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Equivalent statements.

And they’ll probably be bilking me for a new-purchase CF Inkosi before year’s end. <<sigh>>

halflife78 said:
Honestly, I am so tired of hearing the whole Benchmade MAP nonsense. I have about 50 Benchmades and I pay on average 30% off MSRP and up to 50% off in rare cases....
Local dealer gives me 30% off regular items, 40% the annual constant run Gold Class knives. Another shop where my wife’s parents live does 30% off all items by default, then 25% off that on Black Friday. Another local shop does 20% off by default then 20% off that roughly 3 times a year.
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Consider yourself lucky. I think most of us don’t have it so good. For guys like me, it’s a very real issue.
 
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Why is msrp so high that 30-35% off is the starting point for retailers to sell knives in the first place? I understand that Amazon is at least partly to blame for Spyderco to enforce map pricing. They wanted to sell them at discontinued prices, while paying (a lot) less than everyone else. I think Sal made the right call, although simultaneously raising msrp took a lot of their models off my buy list for the year. I can still spot deals though, I just look for knives that are priced competitively with regard to materials. I also bought a lot more exclusives and discontinued models than I normally do.
 
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