Product same price everywhere - is that allowed?

Lomast

In theory i agree with you but in reality it happens all the time. I'm sure The agreements are all above board but I'm sure there are plenty of unofficial agreements in place that are almost impossible to prove
The French competition agency have tried to find Apple for doing exactly this but it is still going through appeal.

Jack_Cork

Lomast said:

In theory i agree with you but in reality it happens all the time. I'm sure The agreements are all above board but I'm sure there are plenty of unofficial agreements in place that are almost impossible to prove
The French competition agency have tried to find Apple for doing exactly this but it is still going through appeal.

In the past there may have been unofficial agreements, but now a company would get fined millions and employees face going to jail if found out, and at some point there is usually a disgruntled whistle blower. 
Why are a lot of products the same price everywhere? Probably the margins aren't great so the retailers look at what each other is selling at and try to match that. As a PP said then offer some extras, John Lewis for example offer a TV at the same price as most competitors but give you a free 5 year warranty.

The Law states if you are a supplier:
 • You must not dictate the price at which your products are sold, either online or through other sales channels.
 • Policies that set a minimum advertised price for online sales can equate to RPM and are usually illegal.
• You must not use threats, financial incentives or take any other action, such as withholding supply or offering less favourable terms, to make resellers stick to recommended resale prices.
 • You cannot hide RPM agreements - restrictive pricing policies in business-to-business arrangements are illegal whether verbal or written. Equally you cannot try to use apparently legitimate policies (e.g. image licensing) to conceal RPM practices.  

Supersonos

Jack_Cork said:

Lomast said:

In theory i agree with you but in reality it happens all the time. I'm sure The agreements are all above board but I'm sure there are plenty of unofficial agreements in place that are almost impossible to prove
The French competition agency have tried to find Apple for doing exactly this but it is still going through appeal.

The Law states if you are a supplier:
 • You must not dictate the price at which your products are sold, either online or through other sales channels.
 • Policies that set a minimum advertised price for online sales can equate to RPM and are usually illegal.
• You must not use threats, financial incentives or take any other action, such as withholding supply or offering less favourable terms, to make resellers stick to recommended resale prices.
 • You cannot hide RPM agreements - restrictive pricing policies in business-to-business arrangements are illegal whether verbal or written. Equally you cannot try to use apparently legitimate policies (e.g. image licensing) to conceal RPM practices.  

So if Apple aren't dictating the price, how come Apple products are the same price wherever I look, whereas a Samsung fridge I looked at recently was all sorts of different prices?  How have Apple managed to ensure if I want that iPad I have to pay £479?

Supersonos

powerful_Rogue said:

Supersonos said:

I've been looking at the Apple iPad Air and have noticed that wherever I go (Apple, John Lewis, Currys etc.) they're all £479.  I thought competition meant some places might choose to sell it cheaper?

And how does this come about?  Do Apple only supply to stores who agree to sell it at £479?

If places couldn't sell at the same price and always had to compete, then we would end up getting products for £0.00

I believe that's the whole point of competition.

JJ_Egan

OP gave the answer in Choose to sell cheaper ( or dearer )

google shows different prices .

As does Amazon

daveyjp

Supersonos said:

Jack_Cork said:

Lomast said:

In theory i agree with you but in reality it happens all the time. I'm sure The agreements are all above board but I'm sure there are plenty of unofficial agreements in place that are almost impossible to prove
The French competition agency have tried to find Apple for doing exactly this but it is still going through appeal.

The Law states if you are a supplier:
 • You must not dictate the price at which your products are sold, either online or through other sales channels.
 • Policies that set a minimum advertised price for online sales can equate to RPM and are usually illegal.
• You must not use threats, financial incentives or take any other action, such as withholding supply or offering less favourable terms, to make resellers stick to recommended resale prices.
 • You cannot hide RPM agreements - restrictive pricing policies in business-to-business arrangements are illegal whether verbal or written. Equally you cannot try to use apparently legitimate policies (e.g. image licensing) to conceal RPM practices.  

So if Apple aren't dictating the price, how come Apple products are the same price wherever I look, whereas a Samsung fridge I looked at recently was all sorts of different prices?  How have Apple managed to ensure if I want that iPad I have to pay £479?

There are dozens of manufactuers of fridges, they all do the same job so you can fund one to suit your budget or the features you want.

If I want a product which runs Apple aoftware and apps I have to buy an Apple.  As they sell well and there is no competition for their product there is no need for retailers to compete on price.

Jack_Cork

Supersonos said:

Jack_Cork said:

Lomast said:

In theory i agree with you but in reality it happens all the time. I'm sure The agreements are all above board but I'm sure there are plenty of unofficial agreements in place that are almost impossible to prove
The French competition agency have tried to find Apple for doing exactly this but it is still going through appeal.

The Law states if you are a supplier:
 • You must not dictate the price at which your products are sold, either online or through other sales channels.
 • Policies that set a minimum advertised price for online sales can equate to RPM and are usually illegal.
• You must not use threats, financial incentives or take any other action, such as withholding supply or offering less favourable terms, to make resellers stick to recommended resale prices.
 • You cannot hide RPM agreements - restrictive pricing policies in business-to-business arrangements are illegal whether verbal or written. Equally you cannot try to use apparently legitimate policies (e.g. image licensing) to conceal RPM practices.  

So if Apple aren't dictating the price, how come Apple products are the same price wherever I look, whereas a Samsung fridge I looked at recently was all sorts of different prices?  How have Apple managed to ensure if I want that iPad I have to pay £479?

Apple can suggest a RRP but cant enforce it. If margins are low the retailers will just all sell at the same price.
You might not believe me but it is illegal to set a price at which all retailers sell at. 
I really am not making it up, see here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/resale-price-maintenance-advice-for-retailers/resale-price-maintenance-advice-for-retailers 

powerful_Rogue

Supersonos said:

powerful_Rogue said:

Supersonos said:

I've been looking at the Apple iPad Air and have noticed that wherever I go (Apple, John Lewis, Currys etc.) they're all £479.  I thought competition meant some places might choose to sell it cheaper?

And how does this come about?  Do Apple only supply to stores who agree to sell it at £479?

If places couldn't sell at the same price and always had to compete, then we would end up getting products for £0.00

I believe that's the whole point of competition.

Not to keep undercutting each other it isn't.

Supersonos

daveyjp said:

Supersonos said:

Jack_Cork said:

Lomast said:

In theory i agree with you but in reality it happens all the time. I'm sure The agreements are all above board but I'm sure there are plenty of unofficial agreements in place that are almost impossible to prove
The French competition agency have tried to find Apple for doing exactly this but it is still going through appeal.

The Law states if you are a supplier:
 • You must not dictate the price at which your products are sold, either online or through other sales channels.
 • Policies that set a minimum advertised price for online sales can equate to RPM and are usually illegal.
• You must not use threats, financial incentives or take any other action, such as withholding supply or offering less favourable terms, to make resellers stick to recommended resale prices.
 • You cannot hide RPM agreements - restrictive pricing policies in business-to-business arrangements are illegal whether verbal or written. Equally you cannot try to use apparently legitimate policies (e.g. image licensing) to conceal RPM practices.  

So if Apple aren't dictating the price, how come Apple products are the same price wherever I look, whereas a Samsung fridge I looked at recently was all sorts of different prices?  How have Apple managed to ensure if I want that iPad I have to pay £479?

There are dozens of manufactuers of fridges, they all do the same job so you can fund one to suit your budget or the features you want.

If I want a product which runs Apple aoftware and apps I have to buy an Apple.  As they sell well and there is no competition for their product there is no need for retailers to compete on price.

What an odd comment.

I was looking at the same make/model of fridge, which was available is widely varying prices.  The model of iPad Air I'm looking at it availble at £479 and nothing else.

Supersonos

JJ_Egan said:

OP gave the answer in Choose to sell cheaper ( or dearer )

google shows different prices .

As does Amazon

I gave the answer??

Admittedly, Amazon does show it at £463, but they're the only one cheaper.