Ebay and Costco team up to pressure congress to make price fixing illegal again

[strmrdr]

Retailers including eBay and Costco are teaming up to persuade Congress to overturn a Supreme Court decision that lets manufacturers set minimum prices for some products. EBay said it will use its site to educate visitors and build support for the cause. Wall Street Journal, The (subscription required)
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This will have a huge effect on the designer ring market if it is passed as it should be.
It should have never been ruled to be legal in the first place in my opinion.

 

[neatfreak]

This is hilarious considering ebay is one of the worst offenders at price fixing- requiring people to use paypal (their company) and penalizing those who don''t...geez.

 

[strmrdr]

News link:

http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/12/01/daily78.html

It doesn't say much more than what I quoted above.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 12/7/2008 9:34:12 AM
Author: neatfreak
This is hilarious considering ebay is one of the worst offenders at price fixing- requiring people to use paypal (their company) and penalizing those who don''t...geez.

The worst effect has been in the medical device and medical aid markets.
In a lot of cases prices tripled overnight when it was passed.
So will yea ebay is evil in this case they are on the right side.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/7/2008 9:36:59 AM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 12/7/2008 9:34:12 AM

Author: neatfreak

This is hilarious considering ebay is one of the worst offenders at price fixing- requiring people to use paypal (their company) and penalizing those who don''t...geez.

The worst effect has been in the medical device and medical aid markets.

In a lot of cases prices tripled overnight when it was passed.

So will yea ebay is evil in this case they are on the right side.

I agree with you that they are on the right side, I just think it''s hilarious that it''s ebay that is the one lobbying for this!

 

[purrfectpear]

eBay does practically nothing about policing their own issues, of which there are many. I would prefer to see them address those first.

 

[WinkHPD]

So you would have fine designers have their rings prostituted at the lowest I can give it away cheaper than you can prices?

If so you will soon only have cheap crap available as it will not be worth while to build a truly nice item.

Be careful what you wish for. There are two sides to this issue, and cheap is not the only answer. If you take the profit from making a fine product away as the profit from diamonds has been taken away then there will be nothing to keep those of us who deal in quality in business, we can not make a living on a 5 - 10% markup, so you will get to deal only with cheap crap and mall type stores.

I will not be the only one to leave retail should this happen, and the end result will NOT be good for the consumer.

Wink

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 12/7/2008 6:32:26 PM
Author: Wink
So you would have fine designers have their rings prostituted at the lowest I can give it away cheaper than you can prices?


If so you will soon only have cheap crap available as it will not be worth while to build a truly nice item.


Be careful what you wish for. There are two sides to this issue, and cheap is not the only answer. If you take the profit from making a fine product away as the profit from diamonds has been taken away then there will be nothing to keep those of us who deal in quality in business, we can not make a living on a 5 - 10% markup, so you will get to deal only with cheap crap and mall type stores.


I will not be the only one to leave retail should this happen, and the end result will NOT be good for the consumer.


Wink

That is a red herring Wink.
Jewelers and designers thrived for the 94 years it was law.
The ruling does nothing but hurt consumers in several markets.
Health care being the worst of them.

 

[denverappraiser]

I think Wink is right, but I think jewelry designers will have no problem working around it even if eBay wins this. Obviously any end buyer who wants to sell their stuff is welcome to do so at whatever price and through whatever channels they want and the manufacturer has no say in the matter, so the question strictly has to do with the distribution of ‘new’ merchandise through the authorized dealer network. This network does not exist in a vacuum. The manufacturer chose those particular dealers because they presented the merchandise in a particular way, because they offered good client support, because they were in a desired location or whatever it was that made them a desirable partner. This includes pricing in a way that supports the brand. The manufacturer has two levers. The first is in the selection of who is, and who is not, ‘authorized’ as a dealer, and the second is under what circumstances a purchase is eligible for warranty support. Since the manufacturer will continue to control both of these areas, I see no reason to believe that the full service dealership will be a thing of the past. If the brand or a particular product fails because they offer too expensive a distribution approach, so be it, let ‘em fail, but it is entirely reasonable for a maker to decide how much they will pay their distributors for their services and to specify what services are expected as part of the program.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver