WCoastpeddler,

My apologies, I didn't see your post until the OP resurrected the thread.

Since we moved our warehouse to the states, we almost never sell directly to Canadian Bike Shops/Retailers. Nearly everything that we now sell into the Canadian market goes through 3 Canadian regional distributors. We sell to them at the same price in US $ that we sell to US regional distributors. This price should allow them to sell to the Local Bike Shop/Retailer so that everyone can make money, and sell the tire at what would roughly be equivalent to the US MSRP.

As for control over what Distributors/Retailers can charge, we only have one recourse; stop selling them product. Dictating what is charged is not legal, it's "price fixing" and "collusion". The marketplace is the ultimate arbiter of the price of bike tires.

Generally in the US, the problem is the opposite, we have e-retailers that sell below MSRP. Once again, we can't call them and tell them to raise their prices; the best we can do is try and figure out their source and cut them off. With regard to this, it's not that we don't want people to get the best possible purchase price on Schwalbe tires, we're trying to keep our tires on the shelves of the LBS. If they can't make money on our products, they won't carry them.

All this said, as we try to protect the LBS, we also protect the end consumer by selling direct at MSRP. If you live in Canada, this adds a little complexity but you can buy anything we carry directly from us. Canadians cannot order over the website, but you can call our toll free number and we're happy to help you out.

I hope this helps. If you have any direct questions, please feel free to drop me a note, or give me a call.

gb