dickbaker - 3:38 pm on Feb 11, 2010 (gmt 0)

I don't understand why I'm seemingly not able to make my point clear.

1. MAP doesn't set prices. It sets the price that can be shown in advertising (newspaper ads, on websites, in catalogs, etc). The price the merchant charges can be anything. A merchant could sell a $200 item for $1, and it would not be a violation of MAP.

2. No matter how low you set your price, there will always be someone lower. I set my price at a point where I make a profit I'm comfortable with, yet I'm competitive with most sites. Not all, but most. On some items I make a very good margin; on others, not as much.

3. I'm not upset because I got "called" on something that gave me an "edge." I'm upset because the manufacturer is trying to circumvent price fixing laws.

4. It would seem that some here like MAP because they think it's "fair." There is no "fair," at least not if you define the word as equality of results. I have almost no overhead, therefore I can charge less than someone who has overhead. On the other hand, the person with the brick and mortar store has an advantage in that he can show the customer the products, let the customer play with them, and persuade the customer to buy on the spot. Online merchants are at a disadvantage with that.

Again, I'd like to hear from anyone who has never bought something from a retailer because the price was lower than the competition. So far nobody has spoken up on that one.