Benchmade should...
I saw where a competitor (ZT) sent notice to dealers that MAP was being suspended during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. Good move.
I know how MAP protects the brand, however a planned suspension on this shopping weekend I think is good for the brand. Folks who may not have jumped on a Benchmade might take the time to try one out.
Online retailers bear the biggest brunt of MAP limitations. However as we move further and further into the future, B&M dealers will mean less and less, especially for key younger shoppers. I know my adult children rarely shop for non-food items in stores. They shop EXCLUSIVELY online for non-perishable goods. Suspending MAP for this weekend is a nice perk for your cyber dealers, still keeps the overall pricing structure intact, and just lets everyone have some fun.
Come on Benchmade, give it a try.
Unless you already have, and then good job.
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/|\ + 1! I think that's a great idea Mark!
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Looks like I'll be shopping ZT this weekend, thanks for the heads up.
This would be a good idea a couple times a year. Maybe a 6, 12 , or 24 hour sale.
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I am wondering if Benchmade has done something like this, but just has not made it public. You will notice a lot of folks are running sales on the Bug Out. Maybe they dropped MAP on this model (and a few others) for the weekend?
Either way I think it would be a cool trend. Not sure about doing it other times of the year, however Cyber Monday would make sense for sure.
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Yeah I saw some $69 griptilians out there today as well. Must be some allowance for flash sales within the MAP structure.
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Can you explain what MAP is to a Brit please?
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kingfisher posted:
Can you explain what MAP is to a Brit please?
MAP = Minimum Advertised Price
Many manufacturers use it to set a minimum price that can be used to advertise their products by their dealers and resellers.
Here is a Explanation of MAP for MAP on Amazon.
Hope this helps!
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Thanks Tim - just curious. Never heard of it before. It seems this breaks the competition laws in UK and Europe.
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kingfisher posted:
Thanks Tim - just curious. Never heard of it before. It seems this breaks the competition laws in UK and Europe.
No sweat KingFisher!
I'm not sure that it would break them as it's simply setting the minimum that a reseller can advertise the given knife for. It doesn't restrict free trading but instead sets a competitive bottom line price. This would also help prevent market domination by a single reseller. At least the way I understand it.
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It’s a great idea
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MAP is a disaster in the long run. Foorced overpricing to maintain brand superiority ultimately fails. Sales eventually migrate to competitors who aren't afraid to compete at a fair market value. Price wins out every time. Quality, exclusivity and service play a role. Today's market is abundant with quality and service. Is the axis lock and the like still exclusive?
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MAP only restricts the “advertised” price... sellers can still sell the knives for whatever price they choose. Some retailers get around this by printing “request price”, then send the customer an email with the actual price. You’ll often see advertisements for all sorts of products say “Call for price” or “Price too low to print!”. There’s no forced overpricing going on.
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biomelodic posted:MAP only restricts the “advertised” price... sellers can still sell the knives for whatever price they choose. Some retailers get around this by printing “request price”, then send the customer an email with the actual price. You’ll often see advertisements for all sorts of products say “Call for price” or “Price too low to print!”. There’s no forced overpricing going on.
This. I have a local dealer that gives me 30-35% off all Benchmades and has for the last few years. I have found a couple dealers that also mark knives below the MAP price, but just don't advertise it via social media or their website.
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halflife78 posted:biomelodic posted:
MAP only restricts the “advertised” price... sellers can still sell the knives for whatever price they choose. Some retailers get around this by printing “request price”, then send the customer an email with the actual price. You’ll often see advertisements for all sorts of products say “Call for price” or “Price too low to print!”. There’s no forced overpricing going on.
This. I have a local dealer that gives me 30-35% off all Benchmades and has for the last few years. I have found a couple dealers that also mark knives below the MAP price, but just don't advertise it via social media or their website.
Same here... my local dealer sells Griptilians for $79... Bugouts for $99.... hell, a few weeks ago I bought a Super Freek for $160.
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"Forced overpricing" was a poor choice of phrases in its context. A better choice would have been "de facto overpricing" as most customers don't know to ask for a lower price. Not knowing what MAP pricing is. Ask your friends and family. "Hey Bob, what do you think of manufacturer's using MAP?"
Someone should also tell the sales associate behind the counter as well. They (mostly) have no idea and have knives listed at 10% off or at MSRP. No talking them down for fear of losing Benchmade dealer status. This is nothing new. A few antidotes about YOUR local guy hardly makes it the norm.
Simply an issue to think of. This is a topic of discossion in economics as it is a social science.
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drforthingtonpringles posted:
"Forced overpricing" was a poor choice of phrases in its context. A better choice would have been "de facto overpricing" as most customers don't know to ask for a lower price. Not knowing what MAP pricing is. Ask your friends and family. "Hey Bob, what do you think of manufacturer's using MAP?"
Someone should also tell the sales associate behind the counter as well. They (mostly) have no idea and have knives listed at 10% off or at MSRP. No talking them down for fear of losing Benchmade dealer status. This is nothing new. A few antidotes about YOUR local guy hardly makes it the norm.
Simply an issue to think of. This is a topic of discossion in economics as it is a social science.
I understand what you’re saying, but I wasn’t referring to needing to “talk someone down on the price” or needing to “ask for a lower price”... in the store, the product can be, and is, clearly marked at the discounted price. The only place where MAP is used/required is in published advertisements. Mandating a minimum selling price and mandating a minimum advertised price are two COMPLETELY different things. If a local brick and mortar store’s management is ignorant to the fact they have complete control of their selling price, I think THAT hardly makes it the norm.
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drforthingtonpringles posted:"Forced overpricing" was a poor choice of phrases in its context. A better choice would have been "de facto overpricing" as most customers don't know to ask for a lower price. Not knowing what MAP pricing is. Ask your friends and family. "Hey Bob, what do you think of manufacturer's using MAP?"
Someone should also tell the sales associate behind the counter as well. They (mostly) have no idea and have knives listed at 10% off or at MSRP. No talking them down for fear of losing Benchmade dealer status. This is nothing new. A few antidotes about YOUR local guy hardly makes it the norm.
Simply an issue to think of. This is a topic of discossion in economics as it is a social science.
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My local dealer this Black Friday marked down quite a few bm knives not on the disco list and some but not all on the list. Some really great deals,below map.Walked out with two benchmades that I've been on the fence about for the year.
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