Iron4045
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2007
- Messages
- 1,249
One of the chief aspects of competition in a capitalist, free market system is price....saying "evenly priced for competition" eliminates much of what competition is based on. What a manufacturer sells its product for initially is up to them, that's capitalism. However, to control the market price after the initial sale of its product, whether that sale is to distributors, resellers, consumers etc. reduces at least one major aspect of competition "price" and the result for US and Canadian consumers is generally higher prices. Interestingly, MAP and other pricing restrictions are illegal in much of Europe and for the following rational:
"Under EU competition rules, retailers must generally be free to determine their resale prices. If suppliers oblige retailers to sell their products for a fixed or a minimum price such a practice is considered to be restrictive of competition within the meaning of Article 101 TFEU"
"The increase of sales on online shops and online marketplaces leads to an intensification of competition, which is to the advantage of consumers as it allows them to easily and almost at no costs compare prices across a large number of retailers to find the best value for their money. The Commission does not consider it appropriate to allow companies to take away these benefits by practices aimed at aligning retail prices to the detriment of consumers."
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