So Atlas is doing MAP pricing now?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

C'mon @Atlas Paul , it's such a pointless waste of EVERYONE'S time.

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I know the aims are noble, but it doesn't REALLY have any effect on actual pricing and all it really does is annoy customers who are trying to buy your products.

[DKS]

Eh? And your point is?

[CBQ Fan]

I am not a fan. But then again I have been less and less interested in products years and years out. I didn’t even notice. I just thought they jacked up their prices and scrolled on by.

[C855B]

I think it's a last gasp to protect the necessity of LHSs to charge list or nearly so just to keep the lights on. Yes, I agree it sidesteps modern realities, but the logic for it is understandable. IMO it's to prevent people from harassing the LHS with printouts or on their smartphone of "Gee, same thing on this website for ...".  :shoulder-shrug:

[learmoia]

.... nevermind
~Ian

[DKS]

IMO it's to prevent people from harassing the LHS with printouts or on their smartphone of "Gee, same thing on this website for ..."

Precisely.

[MichaelWinicki]

I think it's a last gasp to protect the necessity of LHSs to charge list or nearly so just to keep the lights on. Yes, I agree it sidesteps modern realities, but the logic for it is understandable. IMO it's to prevent people from harassing the LHS with printouts or on their smartphone of "Gee, same thing on this website for ...".  :shoulder-shrug:

Yeah, that's probably it. Even though the horse went out that barn door a long, long time ago.

This industry (like several others I know) has/had the reputation of "eating its young".

I've been involved in a handful of businesses where stringent map pricing was in effect... Not this "click here for our real price" nonsense.  And if the manufacturer/supplier has the stones to really punish those that violate map– Well it improves the chances of a business surviving.

But this "faux" map pricing is too little too late.

[CBQ Fan]

Show me a heat map of overall sales total compared to B&M sales and I think you will see B&M footprints are insignificant compared to the whole!  How many people are lacking a viable local hobby shop.

[MK]

IMO it's to prevent people from harassing the LHS with printouts or on their smartphone of "Gee, same thing on this website for ...".  :shoulder-shrug:

But they still can print it out after they've added it to the cart and the real price is shown.

[John]

So what will happen when ModelTrainZon is the only game in town?

[thomasjmdavis]

Not sure if I am seeing old stock or current deliveries on other sites, but the only one where I see the "add to cart to see our price" is my favorite discount online train store. 

But whether it is the manufacturer or retailer, or someone else in between... One of the first rules I learned in business, long before I had an MBA, is that you make it as easy as possible for the customer to give you their money.  Anything that delays or impedes the customer giving you their money is a mistake.

[MichaelWinicki]

Not sure if I am seeing old stock or current deliveries on other sites, but the only one where I see the "add to cart to see our price" is my favorite discount online train store. 

But whether it is the manufacturer or retailer, or someone else in between... One of the first rules I learned in business, long before I had an MBA, is that you make it as easy as possible for the customer to give you their money.  Anything that delays or impedes the customer giving you their money is a mistake.

Thomas,

You're 100% right.

If a manufacturer is mandating MAP pricing then it should be done "behind the curtain" and no mention of MAP pricing should be seen by the end-user.  The end-user just finds that no matter where they shop, the price of item "X" is no lower than the MAP for that item.

[pmpexpress]

Not sure if I am seeing old stock or current deliveries on other sites, but the only one where I see the "add to cart to see our price" is my favorite discount online train store.

It might be because said discount online store is actually a wholesale/retail operation that might be required to abide by a more stringent set of sales rules.

[Atlas Paul]

C'mon @Atlas Paul , it's such a pointless waste of EVERYONE'S time.

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I know the aims are noble, but it doesn't REALLY have any effect on actual pricing and all it really does is annoy customers who are trying to buy your products.

We have actually been doing MAP pricing on NEW items for a few years now.  Rerun items and stock items like track are not included in the MAP policy.

[Maletrain]

MAP just means that I see fewer of your items in my limited time to do on-line shopping.

And, it pushes sales to the sellers who find the ways to work around MAP that are the most convenient to customers.