Garmin Price Fixing

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A memo recently sent to all Garmin Dealers in the US. I think you can draw your own conclusions:

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Minimum Retail Price (MRP) Policy

In an effort to protect the long-term interest of not only Garmin, but also all of our dealers, distributors and customers, we have unilaterally adopted a Retail Price Policy for the units marked on the following pages. Garmin believes that this Policy is necessary to ensure the preservation of the superior image of our brand and the value of our products, and to properly establish the image and reputation of our products in the appropriate market segment.

Although resellers remain free to establish their own prices, Garmin will, without assuming any liability, cancel all orders and refuse to accept any new orders for MRP products from any dealer or distributor for a period of six (6) months, immediately following Garmin’s verification to its satisfaction that such dealer or their distributor, or any retailer or reseller that has purchased a MRP product from such dealer or distributor that has advertised, offered, or sold the product at a net retail sales price less than the above Suggested Retail Price established and announced by Garmin. At Garmin’s election, a second occurrence by a reseller will result in the indefinite discontinuation of any further MRP product transactions with the dealer or distributor.

Any discounting of the Suggested Retail Price for any MRP product - including, without limitation to advertising, offering or providing coupons, rebates, free accessories, or payment of sales tax for the customer - will be regarded as a violation of this Retail Price Policy. Please keep in mind that Garmin’s unilateral Minimum Advertised Price Policy is still applicable to those products designated by Garmin in our price catalog or by Marketing Memo. Garmin will not discuss any conditions of acceptance related to this Policy, as it is non-negotiable and will not be altered for any dealer or distributor. In addition, Garmin neither solicits, nor will it accept, any assurance of compliance with this Policy.

Nothing in this Policy shall constitute an agreement between Garmin and any dealer or on any subject including that the dealer or distributor will sell the MRP products at or above any particular price. For legal reasons, Garmin will not discuss its Retail Price Policy with any dealer or distributor. Accordingly, all Garmin personnel and sales representatives have been specifically instructed not to discuss the Policy beyond the content of this statement with anyone outside of Garmin. Please do not attempt to discuss the Policy with Garmin personnel or sales representatives or communicate complaints or advice to Garmin personnel or sales representatives. Garmin will unilaterally determine whether the MRP products are being advertised, offered or sold at prices other than in compliance with the Garmin Retail Price Policy.

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dv.
 
Guess I won't be buying Garmin then.

I'm totally fed up with being ripped off in this country by everyone who thinks they can get away with it. This is IMHO without doubt a clear attempt to stop US dealers selling over here and giving the UK buyer a chance to benefit from a lower price than the UK offers.

Hope there's a Garmin dealer looking at this post cos you guys just lost a customer!!!!!

JH
 
Yes I remember a very similar policy in Hong Kong from a well known Japanese company a few years back when I was more interested as a provider than consumer.

It all makes good sense until the customer finds out, which is when we proved that "they don't like it up them" (to coin a phrase) and a huge hole appeared in our market due to "grey imports". We lost any ability to negotiate with the customer and suffered for it

I wonder if the UK's Competition Commission would be intersted in this, as I imagine the same thought process will be applied here?
 
Thats not good - That puts me off buying Garmin. If you were a competitor of Garmin, now would be a particularly good time to grab market share with some good entry level offers, or perhaps they are all doing this and its a form of Cartel? I wonder how the dealers feel, bit restrictive practice me thinks.
 
In defence of profit.

Just a quick comment but,Garmin and dealer network appear to have earnt an excellent reputation for service and backup on all their equipment from what I have read in the press/internet and heard directly from chums,help in sorting even really old stuff has been forthcoming compared to most other rival manufacturers.Nothing is for free.
If folks want to pay more for Garmin stuff,even if more expensive than say Raymarine,then surely that is OK.Suspect that best back up/help and ongoing service will come from a dealer that has actually made a profit on the gear he has sold.Curious that folks will complain about somebody trying to maintain a decent margin on some pieces of vital navigation equipment but will happly fork out thousands on a Rolex or such like,the price of which is prob a real case of outrageous price fixin....... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Re: In defence of profit.

I have to agree with the 'oldgit' earlier and support Garmin in its policy. 'Price Fixing' occurs when some or all of the manufacturers agree a market between them to the detriment of the customer, and Garmin are not doing this! There are many 'retail price agreements' out there designed to protect the dealers who actually provide the level of service desired by the suppliers. I know for certain that some large UK concerns are retrenching into this type of arrangement because the anonymous low overhead web sellers are creaming off the margins without providing expensive dealer and customer support. I've had great service from Garmin in the past and long may it continue...
 
Re: In defence of profit.

Add me to the list where margin and after sales service are balanced.

However it's the manufactures margin to retailers that covers this surely? I suspect the pressure has been put on Garmin by the major retailers basically saying if they don't act they will loose distribution.

Don't see this as a 'shipping to the UK' issue - just not a significant market compared to the US. Not to say steps aren't in place for that but this is a US distribution battle.
 
Re: In defence of profit.

I personally believe that a letter like this has been written to offer dealers some form of appeasment at a time when they are probably going mad at the silly pricing we see on the internet. Retailers cannot survive without profit. I have seen loads of manufacturers trying to fix prices. None of them refuse to supply (That may be ilegal). all any manufacturer want to do is move thier product. It is now against the law to even quote a retail price in the television retail business (RRP). This is the reason why the independant retailers are disapearing leaving the bulk of the business to the multiples who frankly don't give a hoot when asked for after service. I would much rather purchase a Garmin or any other product, which my life might depend on, at a higher price knowing I have the service should I need it.
 
Re: In defence of profit.

add me to the list too.
Garmin and Icom and the like, offer superb after sales service. Whilst I love a bargain, after sales becomes important sometimes, and I'd like companies to maintain a decent level of service.

The level of price is not necessarily going to affect the company, as they will have negotiated the price that they sell to the retailers, but many quality retailers won't bother to sell if they are consistently undersold by internet merchandisers with no or little overheads.


I recently bought a motor which is relatively expensive. I decided to buy at a higher price than I could have bought from the internet firms, as I wanted the comfort of knowing I could actually get the thing serviced properly with decent customer care, and getting a replacement car from the dealer if anything went wrong was of higher priority than saving a relatively few quid.
 
Re: In defence of profit.

>I decided to buy at a higher price than I could have bought from the internet firms

Yes, but you had a CHOICE. Buy from internet firm and you're on your tod, or buy from dealer and get cups of tea and service. Isn't this choice a fundamental tenet of a free market ?

I too could probably have got the 4-and-half k's worth of Raymarine kit I have just ordered a bit cheaper from an internet supplier, but I chose to pay a bit more and get it fitted by a local authorised Raymarine agent who will stand by it and support me if required, but I'm not advocating wiping "box shifters" off the map, because that might suit some people.

dv.
 
Re: In defence of profit.

[ QUOTE ]
Add me to the list where margin and after sales service are balanced.

However it's the manufactures margin to retailers that covers this surely? I suspect the pressure has been put on Garmin by the major retailers basically saying if they don't act they will loose distribution.

Don't see this as a 'shipping to the UK' issue - just not a significant market compared to the US. Not to say steps aren't in place for that but this is a US distribution battle.

[/ QUOTE ]

I absolutely agree! I also think there is also an "out of context" situation here as well.
 
Re: In defence of profit.

yes, but the point was, that I made a choice and paid more for better service. I can see Garmin getting narked with idiots shifting boxes for low margin, providing low service, and dragging the brand down. They deserve better, as they are reknowned for providing good service, as are the other maritime brand I mention, Icom. Both should be allowed to exercise a certain control on how their products are sold and branded
 
Re: In defence of profit.

For me the statement isn't the problem - its regional differences. Assumedly, Garmin are just as happy with the RRP as levied in the USA as they are with the RRP as levied in Europe...but there's a difference isn't there? And no small one either!

High standards of service can be maintained without maintaining excessively high prices and again, one has to assume that profit was made on the goods exiting the factory. Then its down to service monitoring. Manufacturers need to maintain quality dealerships and customer feedback and the setting of appropriate standards will ensure this.
 
Re: In defence of profit.

Well you carry on paying extortionate prices but let me choose whether I want to buy from a box shifter of from somewhere where you 'may' get some after sales service.

The manufacturer sells to a dealer at a price, it should be up to each dealer how much profit they want to make. The customer will choose and if it's a bargain from the internet rather than RRP from a shop then the shop is doing it wrong.

Everything goes back to the dealer if it's in warranty anyway?
 
All this talk of service?? In the 90's Britain was plagued by expensive cars compared to our European cousins who enjoyed prices of 30-40% below the UK. How the manufactureres and dealers wriggled and squirmed. First it was currency fluctuations, then it was service, then it was transportation costs, then it was this and then it was that. In the end, they had to concede that the pricing policy was to rip Britain off.

The current playing field is still not perfect but it is certainly better than it was. And the levels of service? Just as good if not better.

Ditto white goods
Ditto consumer electronics
Ditto holidays and air fares
 
Re: In defence of profit.

tell that to the box shifters at Southern Electric, who are absolutely fixated on the £175.86 on my bill which they insist is a credit, despite the fact it clearly shows as a bill on my invoice. Every conversation I have with them, comes down to what shows on their computer screens - it's a credit. No it isn't! and the maths show it isn't! QED

anyway, back to subject in hand. I'd still rather pay the price for decent service, and as the memo in question is US rather than UK, not that worried as different laws apply
 
i think some of the Japenese elctronic sompanies did the same last year, started by Sony. Basically sa dany inernet only supplier undercuting retail outlets that provoded services to support the product would not be supplied.
 
It would appear that the practice could be illegal.

Competition Commission

Ignore the above, just seen that the memo was sent to US dealers and I haven't a clue what their law says.

If they had sent the memo to British dealers, Garmin executives would have been dragged through the streets of Brussles by now, by angry villagers.
 
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