Quote:
Originally Posted by EndlessWaves
Are you sure? I thought manufacturers determining what prices their goods were sold at in shops was illegal most of the time? Didn't they outlaw that in the 50s here in the UK?
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I personally don't think price setting ALWAYS works against the consumer. I would point you to the Camera industry. Local camera shops have been disappearing from all but the largest cities at an alarming rate. The only place people have to view and hold cameras any more to determine what they want are the 'big box' stores with their obligatory pathetic, dusty, Tethered Canikon display of 2 mid-level DSLRs with missing or broken lenses.
If "Best Buy" didn't sell it, it simply didn't exist. People were forced to buy serious gear off the internet, sight unseen or buy the mid level gear the BB stores sold. But the manufacturers have started enforcing their agreements with the sellers regarding the range at which that gear can be sold. providing an economic incentive for shops to sell and promote the brands and models banished from the Big Box stores. People are now buying those brands and competition is slowly returning to the camera market.
I wrote two articles for my personal photography blog that might have some relevance, if you are interested. They aren't TOO photo-geeky, I don't think.
http://glenbarrington.blogspot.com/2...mera-shop.html
http://glenbarrington.blogspot.com/2...future-of.html