How do you feel about ONLINE price comparisons??

[BUDDY]

I am asking this question in light of a recent post seen on HH , in which it was suggested that doing this ,among competing shops, may be a violation of Anti trust laws. In fact the concern of that very thing caused Merrill to prohibit price comparisons from being discussed on HH and also suggested that it shouldn't be discussed at local Chapters nor PPFA meetings.

It was already mentioned that it is done Nationally by Decor and no litigations have occured thus far. Ialso gave the opinion that discussion is one thing and attempts to use the resulting information to FIX PRICES ae entirely different and IMHO only then a violation of any Laws.

It was also noted by Ira that while no foul may have been committed the Cost of leagl defense and time consumption in doing so would be so coatly that even if found INNOCENT we could end up loseing anyway.

Sinec this practice is very frequently employed here for the most innocent of reasons I would be very interested in knowing how all here view that Opinion?
BUDDY

 

[Paul Cascio]

Can't do it

You can collectively suggest that the Always-On-Sale Framers' prices are not so great, etc. But you cannot conspire to set prices, organize boycotts, etc.

 

[Dave]

I don't know about the legalities of it, but I would point out that in each and everyone one of these discussions it is always advised that everyone must set their own price depending on their individual circumstances with regards to geographic location, overhead, COG, etc.

I don't believe the posts have ever broached the subject of unifying prices within the industry.

Dave Makielski

 

[PaulSF]

The question is, are we conspiring to fix prices, which is per se illegal, or are we comparing prices? If the manager of the 10th St. Safeway store walks into a nearby Albertsons to see what Albertsons is charging for Jif peanut butter and Barilla spaghetti sauce, that isn't price fixing. Similarly, if you put on a blonde wig and walk into the nearest framing competitor with a poster of Starry Starry Night and ask for a quote on framing, that isn't price fixing.

Another consideration is whether we are competitors. To my knowledge, the only active grumblers nearby to me are Kirstie and Brian...k. So if I compare prices with a grumbler in Louisiana or North Carolina, is that grumbler a competitor? Is it really likely that someone in my geographic area will shlep their artwork to Raleigh, NC to get it framed by someone there, because his prices might be $15 cheaper?

The final consideration is, what's the likelihood of the government taking legal action against one of us? The government goes after billion dollar companies, where the scale of the offense and the size of potential damages justifies the hundreds of thousands of dollars (sometimes millions of dollars) that it takes to prosecute one of these cases.

I used to practice law, and although it's been a long time, my sense is that (1) these aren't clear cases of price fixing between competitors, and (2) we are too small to merit attention.

 

[Jerry Ervin]

Yet again another reason why I would not participate in HH.

That is just plain ridiculous.

They should be concerned over there that one day there will be no independent professional framers. You'll frame for a box or not at all.

 

[PaulSF]

Jerry, I think that the HH is just being overly cautious, so as not to subject the PPFA to any legal complications. It's still a valuable resource for sharing ideas and expertise.

 

[Bill Henry-]

Just the fact that you can go online and compare prices for telephone service or compare prices for software or appliances using PriceGrabber or StreetSmart, would, to me, seem to blow that argument about us being involved in antitrust activities.

But, if a bunch of use “conspired” to fix our prices for #15 Nielsen at $10 /ft, then our spouses might see us on the 6 o’clock news doing the perp walk.

 

[Dave]

...

But, if a bunch of use “conspired” to fix our prices for #15 Nielsen at $10 /ft, then our spouses might see us on the 6 o’clock news doing the perp walk.

Bill ...you trying to get me to lower my price???

I couldn't give 60% off anymore!



Dave Makielski

 

[Bill Henry-]

Bill ...you trying to get me to lower my price???

Of course not, Dave, 'cause that would be against the law!

 

[brian..k]

I do have to say that in some of the recent threads started by Paul C. there has been some discussion that we as independants should try to match or beat the BB pricing. To an extent that does qualify as price fixing. Also regarding PualSF's comments about the government only going after large companies this is true but..... if a large company(say Arron Bros. or Michaels) has the right friends they would go after the smaller companies. After all that's the attitude of the current administration, Help those that don't need help and screw the rest of em.

 

[realhotglass]

Benchmarking is a standard tool for many industries, and is perfectly legal to create / use these servcies to see where your particular business compares to an industry average.

I don't see that many recent threads are about independents matching or beating BB pricing.
Many already do in the world of real or perceived discounting.

Rather than anything to do with pricing, some recent initiatives seem more to be more aimed at trying to eliminate the shadier aspects of advertising where there are deceptive statements in advertising.

I still feel that the Masterpice Conservation glass developments and statements found are much more deceptive than the ongoing 'discounts' by BB's to create the perceptions of savings to consumers.
But then, Museum glass is still a very small part of the industry overall . . . but it is growing.

In reality relative pricing is too hard to ascertain when there are so many levels of materials and workmanship (workwomenship) involved in the industry.