The Supreme Court just ruled on a case about manufacturers setting minimum prices. I have not had a chance to read it yet, so I am not sure of its affect, however the attorneys here may find it interesting. With some manufacturers claiming to want to support hobby shops, if this allows them to set minimum prices, will we see much less large discounts from internet sellers?
No
The company that sell the wooden Thomas products is very strict about how the minimum prices are set. Retailers are only allowed a fixed number of “Sale days” per year, the rest of the time they are supposed to stick to MSRP. I would have thought that this type of practice would be impacted. I am not sure I have heard of similar practice in the MRR hobby?
Not being a lawyer I don’t know the ins and outs of this decision. But it was a hot topic many years ago. If the manufacturers can set a retail price then some of them will do it. Whether or not they can get enough sales to maintain them is the big question. And if only some of the them do it the others may see a big boost in sales.
Interesting times we live in.
Paul