Discounts on Tamiya products - POOF! GONE!

[SfanGoch]

Got this in an email from Internet Hobbies this afternoon:

Important Notice To All Modelers - Tamiya's New Minimum Advertised Price Program

 

Dear Modeler,

 

A few days ago we received notice of Tamiya's new Minimum Advertised Price Program. Their program only allows hobby dealers to advertise and sell their products at a pre-set discounted price. This means that every hobby dealer can only sell their products at Tamiya's MAP price. Their rational on this program is to halt the massive unfettered discounting of their products in the marketplace. They feel this lessens the value of Tamiya products and harms their brand. We have been told by our suppliers that Tamiya will strictly enforce this program and any dealer not in accordance will not be allowed to sell their products.

 

What does this mean for you?

 

The program takes effect on June 1, 2018. All hobby dealers will be required to alter their pricing to adhere to the Tamiya Minimum Advertised Price Program. On that date Internet Hobbies will have no choice but to raise our selling prices on all Tamiya products. We will also be required to not include any Tamiya products to any Internet Hobbies sales promotions as this would cause us to not be in compliance with the rules of their program and put us in jeopardy of losing our ability to sell Tamiya.

 

This means you only have a couple weeks to get your orders into us at the old pre-MAP prices. Why pay more after June 1st when you can still take advantage of our current low pricing and sales promotions.

Internet Hobbies, LLC

866-659-7680

www.internethobbies.com

[El Roberto]

Aren't there laws against this sort of market manipulation?

[ZTony8]

If Tamiya wants their products to sell at higher prices then maybe they should just sell the kits themselves. Once the kits go to the wholesaler, Tamiya has their money and they get no more profit. Seems as if a bit of a snooty attitude has taken hold at Tamiya.

[SfanGoch]

This was discussed at Armorama when Dragon instituted the same policy. That's why Dragon armor kits are so expensive. Check out this link regarding MAP. This portion is interesting:

MAP and Online Sales

Do online retailers have to follow MAP as well? Absolutely. However, online retailers have figured out a way that the courts and Federal Trade Commission (who oversee pricing issues) allow them to sell below MAP online.

The FTC says that the price displayed in a secure or encrypted shopping cart isn’t subject to MAP because it’s technically not advertising. Instead, the shopping cart of the online store is much the same as a brick and mortar store. So in an online world, the price paid by a customer may legally end up being lower than MAP.

Is this fair? Well, online retailers believe it is. They simply add a disclaimer that states "price displayed in shopping cart." And then the actual price to be paid is displayed there versus on the product's page on the website.

Here's the rub. Not many online retailers play that game. They're perfectly content to toe the line and charge the manufacturer-instituted MAP. It's rare to find an online shop using that disclaimer to get around the MAP and give the customer a better deal. Internet Hobbies isn't in that group, though.

[Ben]

Seems to me that once the retailers purchase the items from a Tamiya wholesaler, they own them and can do whatever they want with them! If I sell you a car and you end up wanting to sell it, I sure can’t tell you how much you can sell it for!

[iamsuperdan]

Pretty common place really. Lego do it, Carhardt do it. 

Toyota used to do it here in Canada.

 

I've never seen sale prices on Tamiya product anyway.

[SfanGoch]

Tamiya can also legally refuse to engage in business with retailers who decline to sign the MAP agreement or advertise and sell its products below the mandated MAP. 

[mikemodeler]

I wonder if this was in response to Hobby Lobby selling product at 40% off with the coupon? You can bet there will be a rush on Tamiya products over the next 2 weeks.

[Fat Brian]

I sent my angry email, I suggest you all do the same and see if we can stop this.

[SfanGoch]

Exercise in futility. Didn't work with DML; won't work with Tamiya.

 

[Pete J.]

There are a lot of products out there that do this for may reasons.  Some just hate seeing their product in the bargain basement.  Others use it as a method of helping detect knockoffs, so they can better protect their brand.  It also forces the retailers to offer something besides bargain prices to their customers.  The ones I am most familiar with are Weber BBQ's and Kitchen Aid.  Home Depot got in a big dustup with them years ago and lost the right to sell them.  Think of it this way.  This will help protect the local hobby store that may of you are howling about saving.  If the internet boys have to charge the same price as the LHS then the LHS wins with on the spot service.  

I do wonder how this will effect the overseas internet like Hobby Link Japan.  Will there be a domestic MAP?

[fumi]

It doesn't matter, you will never hear from Internet Hobbies after you have paid until you dispute it with Pay Pal.  And god forbid you shun the evil Pay Pal and pay them by cheque or money order, you will never hear from them again.

Makes me wonder if it is their scam run again.

https://www.google.com/search?q=internet+hobbies+complaints&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

And for the record, they never had good prices to start with.  They do list a lot of hard to find, out of production kits that they have no intention to deliver.

Edited May 13, 2018 by fumi

[SfanGoch]

Depending on where you live, cost of living/commercial rents/other business-related expenses factor into what one pays for kits of any type at the LHS. Basic operating costs for a hobby shop located in any large city will be commensurately higher than for one in a smaller community.Those folksy, warm and fuzzy brick and mortar joints paying $130-180+ sq/ft for rent will not only charge at or above MAP, they'll also charge above MSRP to make up the difference.The one place I've previously mentioned, Jan's Hobby Shop, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, prices kits 1 1/2 times to twice the MSRP. That's why you'll find the kits on the shelves covered with an impressively thick layer of dust. "Sale" and "deal" are not a part of its business vocabulary.

[Spruslayer]

Oh yes,The map price game

My last real job was at a mom and pop music store as the guitar sales clerk

My experiance with the map program went something like this.

Sales rep from guitar brand F set your store up as an official dealer of brand F guitars and accessories.

All brand Fs products are covered by a map program.

Brand F is also sold at mega super size global conglomerate Music store X

One day wile looking at MSX website i see brand F guitars advertised at below map

Knowing full well after being reassured by sales rep from brand F that any map violation will be dealt with quickly,I call said rep and report price infraction.

Once again i am assured that this will be corrected as everyone has to play by the rules.

Meanwhile,two days later i look at the MSX site and low and behold,Guitar F still there at below map

Sometimes the stuff was below what my store had to pay as a official dealer

I have a feeling Tamiya is gonna cozy up to all the mega outlets and let the mom and pop store take yet another  blow till there are none left

 

 

[SfanGoch]

12 minutes ago, Art Anderson said:

What a bunch of unadulterated, stinky internet BOOLSHEET!  Any such attempt at price fixing is so very much against US Federal Law, as to show any informed consumer of the falsehood of the above statements.  

Read through the link I provided. FTC says that MAP is a legal business policy as defined in federal laws and regulations and affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2007.

[fumi]

46 minutes ago, Spruslayer said:

I have a feeling Tamiya is gonna cozy up to all the mega outlets and let the mom and pop store take yet another  blow till there are none left

I have a bigger feeling that Internet Hobbies is just pulling their usual scam again.

You will never get the items that are on their "low pricing".  They never update the stock status of those items but just list them at their old price anyway. They will happily take your money but they will not deliver those items, because they do not have any to deliver in first place.

[Spruslayer]

Tamiya products on Amazon

Lets see them enforce that.

Tamiya versus Amazon

My moneys on

Bezos

 

[SfanGoch]

32 minutes ago, Art Anderson said:

Stan, like I give a BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH

So don't make inaccurate statements about what the pertinent and applicable laws and regs under USC are if you aren't willing to research the facts. At least, I did take the time to find the relevant info. Your personal opinions and feelings questioning their legality and application are just that, opinions and feelings.

Do me a favor and at least get my username correct. It's S-F-an. There's no "T".

[mike 51]

Checked out Internet Hobbies....lots and lots of complaints about their business practices. 

While their claims about Tamiya  might  be true, I would want to hear it elsewhere.

[Fat Brian]

4 hours ago, Pete J. said:

This will help protect the local hobby store that may of you are howling about saving.  If the internet boys have to charge the same price as the LHS then the LHS wins with on the spot service.

I don't have any local hobby shops anymore, its Hobby Lobby or online around here. 

[Spruslayer]

6 hours ago, Pete J. said:

Think of it this way.  This will help protect the local hobby store that may of you are howling about saving.  If the internet boys have to charge the same price as the LHS then the LHS wins with on the spot service.  

In a perfect world map would work

Unfortunately,map is a corporate price game that on paper in the board room every ones a winner,the loser will be john small hobbies who can only keep 10 of the new release in stock,is forced to sell at map wile Mega linc hobbico can buy 100 or more of the new release and receive a "special price" for a volume buy,then post on their website at under map price and sit back and thumb their nose at Tamiya

Tamiya not wanting to kill the goose that laid the golden egg will look the other way and give lip service to the complainer

This is kinda personal for me as my guitar sales clerk job closed up after 50 + years due to among other reasons was the competition from the internet.

Many times i would call the rep to report a price violation but soon realized i was wasting a phone call

He who buys most rules the roost so to speak

[Pete J.]

I'll toss one more bit if info on this fire just to stir things up a bit.  If you look on the end of the Tamiya box there is always a number often after the model number separated by a -.  It is not a model number and always end in two or more zeros.  It may also be printed in a different color.  That is the JDM price in Yen.  It gives you an idea of what the MAP price in Japan is.  As I said, it will be intersteting to see how this affects the overseas internet sellers like Hobby Link Japan. 

[modeladdict]

5 hours ago, SfanGoch said:

So don't make inaccurate statements about what the pertinent and applicable laws and regs under USC are if you aren't willing to research the facts. At least, I did take the time to find the relevant info. Your personal opinions and feelings questioning their legality and application are just that, opinions and feelings.

Do me a favor and at least get my username correct. It's S-F-an. There's no "T".

Looks like Art deleted his comments. I guess some people don't like being proven wrong. SMH

[fumi]

1 hour ago, Pete J. said:

I'll toss one more bit if info on this fire just to stir things up a bit.  If you look on the end of the Tamiya box there is always a number often after the model number separated by a -.  It is not a model number and always end in two or more zeros.  It may also be printed in a different color.  That is the JDM price in Yen.  It gives you an idea of what the MAP price in Japan is.  As I said, it will be intersteting to see how this affects the overseas internet sellers like Hobby Link Japan. 

It is the MSRP.  Most shops in Japan sell below that price.

[peteski]

Copying what I posted in the parallel thread about this:

Kato (model train manufacturer) has been doing that for years. But the retailers still sell the products at a discount. The only difference is that they cannot show the discounted price until you add the item to the shopping cart.

Here is an example (the price shown is the MAP price).

https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/trains/locomotives/#filter:brand:Kato

More info: https://www.pricewaiter.com/2017/02/minimum-advertised-price-map-vs-manufacturer-suggested-retail-price-msrp/