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Mayfair Games Announces Discount Cap for Retailers
Mayfair Games has announced a new policy for retailers carrying its line of board and card games, specifically a limit on how much these retailers can discount the price of a Mayfair product. Here’s the relevent section of the announcement, which appeared in game industry forums:
| Our manufacturer’s suggested retail prices ("MSRPs") reflect our firm belief in a healthy balance between “free trade” and “fair trade.” Mayfair Games embraces and supports healthy competition. We feel that in order for our market—and thus our company—to prosper now and over the long term all our partners in the distribution chain need to respect this balance.
Whenever a firm threatens healthy competition among our trade customers, and thus endangers this balance, we must act in a vigorous, even-handed fashion to police the distribution and sale of our fine products. Mayfair Games doesn’t intend to specifically dictate how its customers do business… but we will act in cases of predatory, irrational, or patently detrimental trade activity.
So, it’s important that all of our trade customers know where we stand on pricing and discounting…
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Tom Powers at BoardsandBits.com posted news of this policy change on a BoardGameGeek discussion thread while announcing that he would follow the new policy. Thoughthammer.com has also noted that discounts on Mayfair products will now be 20% off MSRP instead of 30-40%. In the BGG thread, Jim Sandefur at Boulder Games denounced others as “chicken shit retailer[s]” for agreeing to adopt Mayfair’s policy.
For my view on the Mayfair announcement, head to my column “Predatory, Irrational, or Patently Detrimental”.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on Oct 30, 2007 at 04:00 AM in News, Boardgame News / 1051
Comments:
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The link to your column is not working this morning. I get the review of Love Pigs...(?) Posted by Brett Myers on Oct 30, 2007 at 08:45 AM | #
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Brett, the link is working now since I removed an extra “ “ that snuck into the URL. Thanks for noticing. Eric Posted by W. Eric Martin on Oct 30, 2007 at 08:52 AM | #
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You have to love Boulder Games.... priceless. Posted by Ben Kindt on Oct 31, 2007 at 09:30 PM | #
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Yikes… when I made my previous comment I was not yet aware of the level of vitriol being flung about over at BGG on this subject… definitely not seeking to enter the debate… backing slowly out of the room… Posted by Ben Kindt on Nov 1, 2007 at 07:45 AM | #
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