ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Manufacturers can suggest prices and recommend prices but cannot set them. The price needs to be set by the retailer. If the manufacturer sets the final retail price it is violating federal anti-trust law.
That can't be true, Apple for one high profile example does it all the time. hmmm. google, google, google...
Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Competition - Resource Guide to Business Competition
Reasonable price, territory, and customer restrictions on dealers are legal. .... . For instance, an agreement between a manufacturer and dealer to set maximum (or "ceiling") prices prevents dealers from charging a non-competitive price. Or an agreement to set minimum (or "floor") prices or to limit territories may encourage dealers to provide a level of service that the manufacturer wants to offer to consumers when they buy the product.
.... If a manufacturer, on its own, adopts a policy regarding a desired level of prices, the law allows the manufacturer to deal only with retailers who agree to that policy. A manufacturer also may stop dealing with a retailer that does not follow its resale price policy. That is, a manufacturer can implement a dealer policy on a "take it or leave it" basis.
Personally, I don't care if a mfg wants to fix the retail price or not. They are the seller, it's up to them. The product is either worth the offer price to me or it isn't. They still have to compete with others who are free to fix the retail price or not.
And I'll keep offering my nicely sharpened #2 pencil for $2,000,000. It's a limited edition unit, one of a kind. I doubt I'll get any takers, but I can't see why it should be illegal for me to offer it for sale.
-ERD50