Ken, you have a good degree of nerve. Personally , I like a guy with piss and vinegar. Actually, I am just like you.
The article you quote from my previous "hard coded" website was probably one that I felt best about when writing it. It represented my free trade philosophy very well at the time, and continues to represent how I feel about how commerce should work today. I am an unabashed free-trader. I believed then, and I believe NOW, that retail price maintenance is a horrible idea AS A COMMERCE PHILOSOPHY. At the heart of my belief system, I think that retail price maintenance should go away. I would like to see the government COMPLETELY SILENT on the entire issue. Let the market settle it out. Some companies will take advantage of consumers, and they will eventually pay the price for that (hey, I would also like to see the government out of education, out of the reproductive rights discussion, out of gun control, and out of most every other part of my life....you see, I am a libertarian). However, this doesn't change my opinion about WHAT THE CURRENT STATE OF THE LAW SAYS.
When we switched from our "hard coded" website, over to our current content management system, I transferred some of the articles over and some I didn't. I didn't transfer that, and several others in that series, because I could not FAIRLY maintain the table that listed the polices of the various scuba companies up to date. The position of the companies was changing rapidly, and given the private nature of policies between a manufacturer and its dealers, I found it impossible to accurately maintain the data for companies with whom I do no business. But come to think of it, I might just cut and paste from the Way Back link you posted and reconstitute that article.
To answer your question, I have had no change of mind. To support my beliefs and to implement commerce in the way that I would like it, I favor ALL of the controls go away. Now, I don't have any confusion of the danger that would pose to me and you, and the other "smaller" retailers, but I would still like to see them go away. As it currently stands, there is a Supreme Court decision which says that retail price maintenance is JUST AS ILLEGAL AS IT ALWAYS WAS! The Leegin decision simply says that it is no longer
per se illegal. If you can prove that a manufacturer has created a price maintenance AGREEMENT that harms commerce and competition, you can sue and you can win.
However, this decision HAS NOTHING TO DO with minimum advertised prices and the policies that enforce them. Neither does your Maryland legislation. Neither does any of the "draft" memorandums, that I am aware of, currently being circulated between our elected representatives on the national level. There seems to be no state legislative efforts that I am aware of, no federal legislative efforts that I am aware of, and no sitting court that seems willing to dispute or challenge the bevy of cases that allow for a manufacturer to choose with whom they do business, on whatever conditions they please......when it relates to restriction as to how a manufacturer may condition the advertising of their brand and their products. (Oh, before you go quoting some of the NARROWLY WRITTEN decisions to the contrary on MAP programs issued by the Supreme Courts against CERTAIN RETAIL PROGRAMS, actually read the opinions. It will save us a lot of time and bandwidth)
Your argument is a very populist argument. Actually, I like it a little. Unfortunately, like all populist arguments, they tend to fly the kite to the south only when the wind is coming from the north. Most unfortunate, it is based upon a misunderstanding of some elements of economics, the law, and the situation "on the ground". Like many people that make a mixed economic, legal, or situational argument, you are at a great disadvantage when you don't possess the requisite knowledge, and it only gets worse when you attempt to combine them into a treatise on the world as you see it. It results in the confusing random writings that you have put forth. Many, many people will like the sound of what you say, but that doesn't add one bit to the validity of the argument. Open anonymous claims that you have "kicked the bad guys out", without telling us who the bad guys are.....simply make your argument look like an emotional rant.
Now, you and many others may think that I have come down a little bit hard on you in this post. I don't have a history of confronting my competitors, to the degree that I consider you a competitor. In fact, most of the time, I SUPPORT my competitors when others bash them. But, I have good reason to talk to you "rather sternly". After all, you mentioned that I had apparently "sold" out to someone. You implied that I have had some sort of "change of mind". Like many people, you jumped to the reasoning that because I don't jump on your populist argument, I must have abandoned my beliefs and sold out to "the man". Far to the contrary. I haven't "sold out" to anyone. I actually have some "skin in the game" on the issue of fighting for a fairer relationship between scuba manufacturers and local scuba stores. I don't mean just signing some petition or using the toll-free number of the attorney general and ranting about how I WISH things were. I actually mean "SKIN IN THE GAME". I was informing others about various aspect of these issues before you even imagined getting into the scuba business. As to my changes of mind, there have been none. I do, however, maintain an ability to know the difference between the various restrictions, which are and are not legal, which are and are not likely to be changed. No change of mind, just a clear ability to separate my personal philosophy from the state of the law. And, my "heart" remains where it always did.
Ken, this is, by design, a civil board, so I will hold back saying to you what I REALLY feel inclined to say. I might suggest that you pose the same questions about me over on the DecoStop, where. by virtue of the terms of agreement, we can be "less restrained" about what we say. Or, like you did months ago, phone me up.
Added Note: I still would like to know the names of the manufacturers that are imposing price restrictions on you at the cash register. If you would tell me the names, I might be willing to "jump on your bandwagon". Because, you see, even us internet guys operate by the same rules you do. Maybe they are applying a special set of "off the wall" rules for you. Or, maybe you are such a pain in the ass to them that they just prefer not to do business with you. But, even that situation would be unfair. Oh, and I understand the MAP price policies....but that isn't LEGALLY the same as price maintenance agreements and policies. Let's not continue to "damage the visibility" by thinking they are.
Phil Ellis
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