Originally Posted by
CliffordK
Several companies are enforcing MAPs (Minimum Advertised Prices).
For whatever reason, the policies are considered "legal" in the USA, in part because one can sell items for any price one wishes. One just can't advertise the prices, which makes little sense in a competitive internet marketplace.
The MAPs are also driven by the manufacturer and wholesalers, rather than the retailer. So, it isn't an agreement among vendors to artificially raise prices.
Another thing that Shimano (and perhaps other bicycle vendors) is doing is refusing to sell to businesses they deem to be 100% online. I.E. refusing to deal with home businesses and tiny start-up businesses. Hard to run a business when one can't buy product, or must buy it at retail prices for resale at higher retail prices.
Like I said, generally MAPs are legal in the U.S. with some exceptions. The case law is that they're illegal if they violate "rules of reason"--in other words, if they're really designed to harm consumers by limiting competition. Just because there are others involved doesn't mean that the retailers aren't acting to fix prices, it's just that they couldn't enforce it without Shimano.
I'm not saying it would be a simple case (they never are), but there are a lot of other actors who might benefit from going after Shimano.