On January 20, 2009 at 18:31, tweeterguy said...
I haven't actually called it anything but was merely pointing
out that stating this as price fixing is false and didn't
want anyone to be mislead or draw conclusions based upon
that statement. I won't go into my usual diatribe and
draw upon my knowledge of economics including such topics
as supply-side economics, consumer theory, Marxism, etc.
as well as a very clear concept about retail procedures
but what may interest you are the theories of substitution
and income effect...now that is some good reading for
sure.
I took several management, finance and economics courses in graduate school for a masters degree in Business Management to supplement my BS in Electrical Engineering.
As a result, I too have some knowledge of economics and I disagree with your definition of price fixing. Manufacturers can also have a part in price fixing as well as retailers.
This situation sounds very similar to what happened in a CD price-fixing case. Companies used MAP to keep prices high and protect independent music retailers from rising competition from discount chains such as Wal-Mart, Circuit City and Best Buy. They believed the policy was pro-competitive and geared toward keeping more retailers, large and small, in business. May sound okay but it is illegal.
I recommend that you go to the following link for additional information:
[Link: usatoday.com]