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Furminator DeShedding Tools

Sunday, October 25, 2009 | Printer Friendly Printer Friendly

Well, it's another chapter in the M.A.P. pricing saga. This time the culprit is Furminator DeShedding Tools. We received a letter today from Furminator (which I have provided a copy of below) that threatens us with a lawsuit if we don't raise our prices on Furminator DeShedding Tools.

What ever happened to competitive pricing and fair trade? What's wrong with offering products at low discount prices? Since when is it illegal to shop for the best price for something? This is just a manipulation of retail pricing, end of story.

I ask you, our customer, how is it going to help you in this difficult economy if manufacturers like Furminator want their products sold at unreasonably inflated prices? Wouldn't you think that Furminator would like to sell as many deshedding tools as possible and offer them at the best price? That's what we thought!

I've been in retail pet supplies for 24 years and have not until just recently experienced such blatant price manipulation. Manufacturers have tried to do it for years with the help and encouragement of big corporate chain stores and the courts have not allowed it. But with M.A.P pricing, manufacturers like Furminator Deshedding Tools have a new and untested way of price fixing. Furminator and manufacturers like them plan to squeeze out the independent pet stores like West Coast Pet Supply by enforcing minimum advertised pricing (M.A.P.) so that large corporate box stores can manipulate their competition.

Let's be real here. It's the large corporate pet stores that are behind M.A.P pricing. It's their way to suppress competition.  Through their buying power they put the screws to manufacturers like Furminator DeShedding Tools. Forcing them to create this inflated retail price for small independents while the corporate stores sell Furminator for whatever they want to.

Don't let M.A.P. pricing cost you money. Tell these manufacturers through calls and emails that M.A.P. pricing is unfair and artificially inflates retail prices. Not to mention providing large corporate pet store chains with an unfair advantage over your smaller "Mom and Pop" local pet stores.

LETTER TO WEST COAST PETS SUPPLY FROM FURMINATOR:
It has recently been brought to our attention that you are advertising FURminator brand products on www.westcoastpetsupply.com without FURminator's knowledge or consent and at prices below FURminator's minimum advertising price policy MAP. Moreover, FURminator owns the Furminator brand name, logos, trademarks, copyrighted materials and other related intellectual property Marks and has registered these trademarks and copyrights in the United States and in several other countries. Your unauthorized use of FURminator Marks demonstrate a blatant and willful disregard for FURminator's intellectual property rights. Your conduct constitutes trademark infringement, unfair competition and dilution under the Lanham Act, and unfair competition under state statutes and the common law, as well as copyright infringement. Notwithstanding the clear evidence of your infringement, FURminator is willing to attempt to resolve this matter amicably, please contact cathy@FURminator.com.


Furminator DeShedding Tools is offering us a way to resolve this "infringement" which is to raise our prices. The rest of this letter is high priced attorney crap.

If you find this outrageous I encourage you to email Cathy and let her know what you think about M.A.P. pricing.



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Comments on: Furminator DeShedding Tools
Jerry Goldman It truly disturbs me that manufacturers like Furminator are price fixing. I wonder how many other items i purchase on a regular basis are price manipulated like Furminator Deshedding Tools.

And another thing. I hate high priced attorneys too. They are sucking the life blood out of this country.

Jer
Samantha I also own a small pet store and fight this kind of thing everyday. Furminator Deshedding Tools work great and we recommend them to all of our customers. But how can I feel good about selling Furminator for more than my competition? I would ask the Furminator Deshedding Tool company why they only enforce their unfair pricing levels on small independent retailers. Do they want us to be uncompetitive?

I don't even think this kind of pricing enforcement is legal, is it?

Furminator deshedding tools shouldn't take their business for granted. There are other companies that make deshedding tools, like Four Paws for one.


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