Guitar manufacturer fined for price fixing

[mark cassidy]

Read in the Guardian this morning (UK) that Fender have been fined 4.5 million pounds for price fixing in the UK. The article said that Fender EU was found guilty of pressuring online sales outfits to push prices higher. It also said that the head office for Fender is in Arizona. News to me.

 

[RickP]

Read in the Guardian this morning (UK) that Fender have been fined 4.5 million pounds for price fixing in the UK. The article said that Fender EU was found guilty of pressuring online sales outfits to push prices higher. It also said that the head office for Fender is in Arizona. News to me.

Do you have a link to the article? I’d like to read it. Fender has locations all over, but they do have a major location in Scottsdale, Arizona. Maybe the home office these days.

 

[shinksma]

Straight from the UK Gov't's mouth:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guitar-maker-fined-4-5m-for-illegally-preventing-price-discounts

 

[Plugske]

Link to article from The Guardian

 

[mark cassidy]

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...maker-fender-fined-45m-for-price-fixing-in-uk

 

[jxe]

in the late 60s a precision bass cost as much as a vauxhall viva.

 

[RickP]

Straight from the UK Gov't's mouth:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guitar-maker-fined-4-5m-for-illegally-preventing-price-discounts

That is an extremely common practice in the US, but then there’s no law I am aware of preventing it. I’ve been told by retailers that’s the policy on PRS... no discounting. I’m sure there’s arguments on both sides of that aisle, depending on whether you’re a manufacturer or a buyer.

But it’s clearly not legal to do so there. Perhaps I need to include U.K. venders in my searching habits!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

That is an extremely common practice in the US, but then there’s no law I am aware of preventing it. I’ve been told by retailers that’s the policy on PRS... no discounting. I’m sure there’s arguments on both sides of that aisle, depending on whether you’re a manufacturer or a buyer.

But it’s clearly not legal to do so there. Perhaps I need to include U.K. venders in my searching habits!

You should, especially Guitar Guitar, who have some cracking deals!

 

[RickP]

You should, especially Guitar Guitar, who have some cracking deals!

Thanks! I will do that.

 

[shinksma]

So the UK Gov't article has links to what I guess they consider "ground rules" for retail pricing. It includes the following statement:

RPM can be indirect. You may still be involved in an unlawful RPM agreement where a supplier:

• imposes restrictions on how far you can discount its product
• prevents or limits your ability to advertise lower prices online (so-called ‘minimum advertised price policies’)

My bold emphasis. PRS imposes a MAP policy on their US retailers (which I guess is legal, otherwise they'd be in trouble), but I guess they cannot (should not?) do the same in the UK, which is interesting, because online pricing does look pretty uniform over there - but maybe they tend to stick to "RRP" as a base, but are free to offer sale prices as they see fit, which I do see a few of here and there.

 

[László]

in the late 60s a precision bass cost as much as a vauxhall viva.

No wonder; it was easier to play bass parts on a Fender than a Vauxhall (or its fender).

 

[dmatthews]

No wonder; it was easier to play bass parts on a Fender than a Vauxhall (or its fender).

Always sounded better with more drive.

 

[jxe]

in those days all the good players were in motown, playing buick and oldsmobile basses.

No wonder; it was easier to play bass parts on a Fender than a Vauxhall (or its fender).

 

[bodia]

That is an extremely common practice in the US, but then there’s no law I am aware of preventing it. I’ve been told by retailers that’s the policy on PRS... no discounting. I’m sure there’s arguments on both sides of that aisle, depending on whether you’re a manufacturer or a buyer.

But it’s clearly not legal to do so there. Perhaps I need to include U.K. venders in my searching habits!

That's not necessarily true with regards to PRS. It's kind of grey. They have a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) that the dealer must adhere to on new guitars. But, if you call a dealer, they will almost always negotiate with you. They can sell it for less than MAP, they just can't list it that way. There are ways around this, as well.

 

[veinbuster]

That's not necessarily true with regards to PRS. It's kind of grey. They have a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) that the dealer must adhere to on new guitars. But, if you call a dealer, they will almost always negotiate with you. They can sell it for less than MAP, they just can't list it that way. There are ways around this, as well.

Yes, this is how they work. The dealer can sell for as little as they want.
There are circumstances when MAP doesn’t apply, like a discontinued model.

 

[jxe]

i need to find a new dealer. cue lou reed music.

Yes, this is how they work. The dealer can sell for as little as they want.
There are circumstances when MAP doesn’t apply, like a discontinued model.

 

[RickP]

That's not necessarily true with regards to PRS. It's kind of grey. They have a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) that the dealer must adhere to on new guitars. But, if you call a dealer, they will almost always negotiate with you. They can sell it for less than MAP, they just can't list it that way. There are ways around this, as well.

Apparently, I need to look to some smaller outlets when shopping PRS then. This was told to me less than two months ago when shopping for a 594, so my experience was recent. Live and learn...