I wonder if Model Expo took this decision (why would they do that. Just sell at the price Occre 'dictates'..now they lose business..)
or if Occre ended the partnership because of ME not adhering to Occre's pricing policy?
To be honest, the 2nd possibility makes much more sense to me.
Also.. this whole 'free market' idea is less of a thing in Europe than in the US I think.
It is probably easier for an European company to keep their EU resellers 'in check' than it is in the US.
The result can be a race to the bottom in terms of profitability for a dealer network, which is also not of interest to the end-user.
Not to speak of customers who (ab)use time and effort and advice from a legitimate business,
only to then scour the internet to order from the cheapest box mover.
In a previous life I was both a reseller and a wholesaler (computers in the 80's), and instinctively my sympathy goes out to Occre.
Not that it matters;-)
Certainly a different perspective on things. And though we'll obviously agree to disagree, I certainly don't have any sympathy for OcCre. They made a corporate decision in regards to how they want to manage pricing, and though some might accept it, others will reject it as being an initiative to eliminate competition in the reseller market. Because of that choice, they've lost one of their larger resellers. Additionally, unless other ship kit manufacturers take the very same fixed pricing stance, they've also given their competition a gift. It's truly not a wise marketing decision.
I'm not an employee of Model Expo, but I suspect the whole thing played out something like this. I think they simply butted heads over the price fixing policy and agreed not to do business with each other. Model Expo would want to be able to control what they sell an item for. OcCre wants to fix pricing. Neither is willing to change their opinion. So whether OcCre refuses to sell, or Model Expo refuses to buy is a moot point. They're simply no longer doing business with each other.
When it comes to buying, customers are going to be looking at a handful of criteria when they make their buying decision. One of the biggest ones will be price. Others will be availability and diversity of product offerings. Previous purchase experience with the seller. Things like customer support, return policies, shipping expediency, etc. So if you purposely cripple one of the major areas in which a business can be competative, then understandably the reseller is not going to be happy. At that point, it becomes better to unload whatever stock you have, and no longer purchase from that manufacturer.
I'm not from the US... I'm Canadian. And though Americans might consider Canada a country with some socialist policies, one thing we share is the concept of free enterprise. OcCre would never be one to have to suffer profit loss, as they are in full control of what they charge. However, the reseller should be allowed to sell the product they acquire from OcCre, for whatever level of profit they deem acceptable. That includes selling things at less than normal mark-up, if they wish to spur additional sales, or if they wish to blow out old inventory that isn't selling well. What is considered normal practice in North America is that a manufacturer will set an MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price)... emphasis on the "suggested". Its not fixed. The only situation I'm aware of where the MSRP is the only price an item is sold for is if the manufacturer also has a retail as well as a wholesale operation. When the manufacturer sells directly to end custojmers, then they have to charge their MSRP so as not to undermine the resellers they sell to.
Creating a quality product and selling it at a price the market will bear is fundamental for any business venture. Mandating what a reseller has to charge their customers for an item is something I personally could never condone or support. Unless the OcCre reseller network is mostly in Europe, I really think they shot themselves in the foot by introducing a fixed pricing policy. I'd actually be quite surprised if many larger European resellers would be thrilled by this either. The only people it really benefits are the very small hobby shops that stock one or two each of a handful of kits, as they would be competing with larger resellers (like Model Expo) who have a warehouse full of kits for sale... and a fixed pricing strategy would work to level the playing field between "mom and pop" shops and larger warehouse operations. Obviously, economy of scale comes into play. If you have a huge operation, most of your operating costs become less because of the volume you're handling. It doesn't mean what you're selling is inferior, it just means that when you buy... you buy a shipping container of product, not six boxes.
People will pay a premium for local service when it makes sense to do so. Today was a very good example of that from a personal perspective... I wanted to get some small parts to enhance the kit I'm currently working on, and rather than order off Amazon, eBay, or AliExpress... I paid a visit to a large, local hobby and craft shop. I paid well over 30% more for what I purchased from them... even more when I take into account the gas I used to drive there... but in return I got to pick and choose from stock I saw laid out in front of me. But to mandate that I would pay that same higher price to acquire it from an eCommerce site makes no sense.
So yes, we're going to have to agree to disagree on this one.
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