>In my previous line of work (the hifi industry), I've seen similar illegal >attempts to "encourage" various retailers to maintain certain price levels. > Frankly I had wondered if I'd run up against it in the Volkswagen >business. I guess there will be a few greedy people anywhere where there's >money to be made, even in Volkswagens. So while I'm a bit disappointed, >I'm not completely surprised, and I know what to do.

So how come Trek is able to sue Costco for undercutting local dealer prices by pulling in "gray market" bikes. (They did lose at least.) How come Trek bikes are pretty much the same price everywhere? (Because they'll cut their distributorship if they go too low.) How come (almost) every stereo/video dealer in the country will not advertise Sony prices? (Because Sony will make it hard for them to get gear, or refuse to pay "co-advertising" kickbacks.) How come the price of John Deer lawnmowers is the same across many retailers in the Puget Sound area? Stihl chainsaws?

Man, there's so much price fixing going on in this country its disgusting. In some cases its done by limiting distributors in a territory, in some cases its done with coercion from the manufacturer, in some cases its done by the retailers following "the rules" because its in their personal interest to do so. This looks like a conspiracy, but there's no collusion between the parties so it's not.)

This is not to say that your complaint isn't valid. I just think that the myth of the "free market" in this country needs to be examined sometimes.

Go for it. If you can put together a better deal and offer it to others, that's what a "free market" is all about. If you have evidence, be prepared to go to court. Be prepared to name names as well - once you have evidence you can't be sued for slander for something that's true (well, I don't think you can anyway) and (as many retailers are discovering) putting their name on the net is sure to slow down their business.

-rick

Rick Gordon Bainbridge Island, WA, USA ------------------------------------- rickgo@halcyon.com http://www.halcyon.com/rickgo/ KC7QEG finger for PGP public key fingerprint -------------------------------------