Klarinet Archive - Posting 000016.txt from 2006/08

From: Tim Roberts <timr@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Buffet Pricefixing??
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:08:19 -0400

On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 20:35:06 EDT, Lisaargiris@-----.com wrote:

>It is not considered price fixing because the dealer has the choice to sell
>at any price they wish as long as it is at least Buffet's MSP price. You are
>making an assumption that everyone will choose to sell at the MSP price. While
>I will, and I am sure others will, not everyone will. Buffet simply has
>elected to require this from their dealers without any further discussion.
>

Saying that it is not price fixing does not make it so. The United
States, at least, has a rather extensive and complicated set of trade
regulations covering these kinds of situations. The simple act of
having two competitors gather in a room and discuss pricing is a
potential violation of those trade regulations.

Buffet does have the right to decide to whom it will sell its
instruments. I'm not convinced that it has the right (in America, at
least) to dictate minimum pricing to independent dealers.

>If Buffet did not have more then 80%
>market share it would not be possible for them to do this.
>

And that, in trade terms, is called "exploiting monopoly powers".
Microsoft has already learned the dangers of that.

--
Tim Roberts, timr@-----.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.

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