What’s the deal with the price fixing of LaRue products ? I want a LT-150 and everyone sells them for $115.00,includeing LaRue . what ever happened to compitition and capitolisom ? is there any place that can sell me a LT-150 for less ? it could be a demo /scratch and dent /blem . 
Why do you call that price fixing
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/price%20fixing
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
price fixing
–noun the establishing of prices at a determined level, either by a government or by mutual consent among producers or sellers of a commodity.Also, price-fixing.
[Origin: 1945–50]
:eek:
Let’s see why ,they tell thier dealers they are not allowed to sell it for less than the posted price on thier site ($115.00) thus Fixing the price everyone has to pay to get one . the fact that this totaly eliminates compitition is my bitch . they make a great product ,but have some very uncapitolist policy’s .I supose when you make a product that good you can call the tune . if this explaination is not clear try Websters dictionary for Price fixing. :rolleyes:
Price fixing is an agreement between business competitors to sell the same product or service at the same price. In general, it is an agreement intended to ultimately push the price of a product as high as possible, leading to profits for all the sellers. Price-fixing can also involve any agreement to fix, peg, discount or stabilize prices. The principal feature is any agreement on price, whether expressed or implied. For the buyer, meanwhile, the practice results in a phenomenon similar to price gouging.
Price fixing requires a conspiracy between two or more sellers; the purpose is to coordinate pricing for mutual benefit at the expense of buyers. Sellers might agree to sell at a common target price; set a common “minimum” price; buy the product from a supplier at a specified “maximum” price; adhere to a price book or list price; engage in cooperative price advertising; standardize financial credit terms offered to purchasers; use uniform trade-in allowances; limit discounts; discontinue a free service or fix the price of one component of an overall service; adhere uniformly to previously-announced prices and terms of sale; establish uniform costs and markups; impose mandatory surcharges; purposefully reduce output or sales in order to charge higher prices; or purposefully share or “pool” markets, territories, or customers.
Generally, price fixing is illegal, but it may nevertheless be tolerated or even sanctioned by some governments at various times, particularly among those whose countries are developing economies. See also Collusion.
In neo-classical economics, price fixing is inefficient. The anti-competitive agreement by producers to fix prices above the market price transfers some of the consumer surplus to those producers and also results in a deadweight loss
It’s not price fixing, it’s called MAP. Most people do it these days, it promotes even competition between retailers.
Post a “WTB” ad and you’ll eventually get the price you’re willing to pay.
it’s done all the time. LMT uppers are the same price at Denny’s, GR, Bravo, etc. and when you see a digital camera at Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. for the same price, the same “price-fixing” strategy is utilized.
you also see it when the manufacturer is also the retailer. to protect the other wholesalers and distributors, a price needs to be established, otherwise the manufacturer will always have the lowest cost, lowest selling price and will effectively crush the very mechanism of his distribution network
the minimum selling price works in theory, but maybe not in this case. what if a retailer decides to sell at the minimum? Grant and the others will have to follow suit and sell at the minimum as well. not everyone is willing to pay the price for Grant’s established customer service or his knowledge of the product. many customers will search the net for the lowest price and order it. so the net effect is that everyone is selling at the rock-bottom lowest price or a “fixed” minimum price. some times it’s 6 to one, half-dozen the other.
when the price is fixed, retailers have to fall back on great customer service, a solid reputation, and the other intangibles that make up a good business.
the net effect for you is, if you find it in stock, it will be a good price. and the retailers will try hard to gain and keep you as a customer.
not so I can always find any product Best Buy has cheaper. there are many manufacturers that sell at a higher price on thier site than some of thier dealers. as to LaRue’s reason for it I could not say,but THE PRICE IS FIXED none the less. and the customer is none the better off because of it . :mad:
maybe i didn’t clarify this right. i did not say that it happens every time, but it happens alot. where i am, honolulu, everyone’s electronics are the same price, or within a negligible amount.
the LMT scenario is the same as the LT scenario, as they are also retailers. and where i am, in regards to Best Buy, the net effect of a “minimum” price is a fixed, low price. manufacturers that retail their own products at a higher price are preserving their dealer/distributor network, without which they might not survive.
that’s just the way it works. sorry.
also to add, my company is a manufacturing company which also reluctantly retails. when i have inquiries about buying from me direct, i quote prices which are higher than my distributors. i also direct them to distributors or retailers. there is no way that i’m going to cut out the legs of my distributors. i NEED them to survive.
Either pony up and buy the LT (which you won’t regret) or buy an ARMS or GGG (which you may regret). Buy cheap and cry twice…
When I buy quality firearms parts, I am less concerned (to a point) with the price and more concerned with:
- Availability - who has what I need in stock?
- Customer service - who can answer my slew of silly questions?
These are more important to me since it’s so easy for many of us who are not experts to buy the wrong stuff and make poor choices. If I am purchasing a low end DVD player, I’ll shop on price. When I am speccing out parts for a rifle, I need someone’s time - preferably someone who knows what they are talking about.
So if the LaRue mount is $115 here and $102.50 somewhere else is not real important to me. I’m making what I consider a lifetime purchase (I doubt I’ll ever “wear out” a LaRue mount) and a few percent in price over that length of time is nothing.
Look at it this way - if the prices are the same, and they are reasonable for what you’re getting, then buisness have to compete on other things - like availability and customer service.
when the manufacturer is higher ,is my point ,but that is not the case here… when I was in the high end audio Biz in the 70’s I was told what the fixed price of Audio Reserch products must be sold at. if you didn’t do what you were told they would not ship or slow ship you product. I had to sell new Amps and preamps as demo’s to cut a price. I’m sure this still goe’s on in the high end audio biz. to this day try and get a deal on NIB AR products .:(anyway my rant is over and I bought the damn mount,but I know damn well what happened.
The MAP price encourages people to make lasting relationships with a dealer.
In theory, the dealer is also a valuable commodity to the manufacturer, which is why most manufacturers sell for higher prices then their dealers. Rarely competing directly with them for the sale.
Based on the limited number of dealers that get gear directly from LaRue, I would say his model is much, much different than the “normal” model.
LaRue Website pricing is the same as the dealers have, but LaRue sends a bunch of swag when you buy from them. Ultimately making dealers a non-factor, at least to a savvy shopper.
It’s always perplexed me why there are only 2-4 dealers that are authorized to order directly from LaRue.
Whatever you want to call it, thats what the market will bare.
i heard you need to buy like $20k in LT gear to be a dealer, but i’m not in the industry, so that’s just hearsay from me.
i buy direct from LT when i can, but they don’t have the best website, so i usually call to make sure they have what i want in stock. if they don’t have it on hand, i buy from an authorized dealer.
Well, then that makes me ask: Is the modern practice of Minimum Allowable Pricing illegal, in general, and is LaRue’s practice illegal, in particular?
My philosophy generally says to let private enterprises charge what they please. If I don’t like the price, no one’s forcing me to buy it.
If a company remains uncompetitive in the pricing of its products and demand warrants, I’d think other innovators will step up and meet the demand.
John
Yeah, let’s keep the hearsay out of it.
It’s not “minimum allowable pricing”, it’s “minimum advertised pricing”.
I believe that if Larue had his way every single one of his products would be bought and sold directly through him.
It’s his business, so he’s free to do as he sees fit.
(1) MAP is Minimum Advertised Price, not allowable price.
(2) Price fixing, as a criminal act, occurs when multiple parties conspire to set a price to prevent competition among themselves. If LaRue insists on a minimum price unilaterally, that is not price fixing.
Exxon setting a price for its gas is not price fixing. Exxon, BP, and ChevonTexaco getting together and agreeing to sell at the same price is price fixing.
Delta setting prices for its tickets is not price fixing. Delta making an agreement with United and American not to charge less than $1/mi for flights would be price fixing.
LaRue setting minimum price is not price fixing. If his dealers got together without his knowledge and agreed amongst themselves not to sell below a certain price, that would be price fixing but it would be the dealers, not LaRue, who’d be violating the law.