I have a site in a niche in which the manufacturers almost always institute MAP (minimum advertised price) policies. They vary in the way they implement MAP, some do not allow any discounting at all, meaning we cannot offer even coupon codes or do the "Add to cart to see price" trick. Some are more lenient letting us do it as long as we use a coupon code, but we dont show a lower price.
Some of the brands we sell have unauthorized (or are authorized, but just violating the MAP policy) sellers of their products. These guys go out there any start selling for extreme discounts. It pisses me off because all of a sudden our PPC fees start jumping up with no conversions. When we discover that there is a discounter then we either pause or refine our ads. Usually this discounter disappears after a few weeks or months, probably going out of business due to extremely low profit margins.
I know there are people out there who are opposed to MAP policies, but if one signs an agreement to be a reseller with a company, then shouldn't they follow their policies?
