ProTaper Introduces MAP Policy

swedishfishmx
Edited Date/Time 12/23/2014 1:48pm
ProTaper MAP Policy | racerxonline.com

Irvine, CA — A pioneer in the motocross industry, ProTaper is now breaking new ground with its retail channels. As an integral component of an ongoing strategy to protect the integrity of the ProTaper brand, a comprehensive Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy is being initiated. "We are proud to announce that the new MAP policy goes live January 1, 2015, says Paul Perebijnos, ProTaper Brand Manager.

This MAP policy applies to all ProTaper distributors, retailers and resellers. Internet resellers of ProTaper products will have until February 28, 2015 to be in compliance with the policy. "Essentially anyone advertising products at lower than 10% off suggested retail prices will be subject to immediate termination," explains Perebijnos. "ProTaper stands for unsurpassed quality and a perpetual commitment to excellence… our MAP policy is just another demonstration of our commitment to our dealers, and ultimately our customers."

ProTaper's MAP policy is being implemented in order to preserve the brand's reputation for providing customers with high value products. Adherence to this MAP policy will protect the integrity of the brand, reinforce ProTaper's strong after-sales support and enhance the brand's image. "By leveling the playing field, we are protecting our dealers and increasing ProTapers competitiveness in the marketplace," concludes Perebijnos.

For complete details on ProTaper's MAP policy:
Page: www.protaper.com/company/map-policy
Policy: www.protaper.com/downloads/map-policy
Price Sheet: www.protaper.com/downloads/msrp.pdf
Email address for policing: mapquestions@protaper.com

For more information about ProTaper, visit www.protaper.com and follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @protaperusa. Physical address for specific questions regarding MAP policy: ProTaper, 1621 Alton Parkway, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92606

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Thoughts on this?
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GeorgiePorgie 12/22/2014 10:07pm
12/22/2014 10:07pm
Aha. Another annoying "Click add to cart to see price". Why? click link for details...
IceMan446
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IceMan446 12/22/2014 10:31pm
12/22/2014 10:31pm
So can a local shop get around this?
Zesiger 112
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Zesiger 112 12/22/2014 11:19pm
12/22/2014 11:19pm
This is BS. So what if a dealer wants to sell at cost instead of retail. Maybe he wants to take care of his customers instead of cheat them. We have a local guy like that.

And I do believe there is a way around it. They can't advertise prices. Our local guy u sign up for an email and he will email his specials.
swedishfishmx 12/22/2014 11:24pm
12/22/2014 11:24pm
Advertised price is only affected. The dealership can/has the right to charge the customer a cheaper price. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

The Shop

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NMRed
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NMRed 12/23/2014 12:25am
12/23/2014 12:25am
swedishfishmx wrote:
Advertised price is only affected. The dealership can/has the right to charge the customer a cheaper price. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.
You are wrong on this. But honestly what's wrong with a brand protecting them selves?
crashnburn11 12/23/2014 12:41am
12/23/2014 12:41am
swedishfishmx wrote:
Advertised price is only affected. The dealership can/has the right to charge the customer a cheaper price. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.
NMRed wrote:
You are wrong on this. But honestly what's wrong with a brand protecting them selves?
Actually, the MAP policy explicitly states that a dealer can set the actual resale price at their own discretion. The policy only affects advertising, but specifically excludes in store pricing or the price In a shopping cart for internet sites.
Jt$
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Jt$ 12/23/2014 5:09am
12/23/2014 5:09am
Dealers can sell for whatever price they want, this just regulates advertised price.
hvaughn88
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hvaughn88 12/23/2014 5:23am
12/23/2014 5:23am
Jt$ wrote:
Dealers can sell for whatever price they want, this just regulates advertised price.
JT, is this something you see more companies doing in the future? And have the dealers you work with given any indication of their thoughts on it?
Gabriel J
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Gabriel J 12/23/2014 5:35am
12/23/2014 5:35am
Zesiger 112 wrote:
This is BS. So what if a dealer wants to sell at cost instead of retail. Maybe he wants to take care of his customers instead...
This is BS. So what if a dealer wants to sell at cost instead of retail. Maybe he wants to take care of his customers instead of cheat them. We have a local guy like that.

And I do believe there is a way around it. They can't advertise prices. Our local guy u sign up for an email and he will email his specials.
A dealer who wants to sell items at cost won't be a dealer for very long.....That would be cheating himself, and the customer when he goes out of business.
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Loftin79 12/23/2014 5:40am
12/23/2014 5:40am
I think more companies need to introduce these policies to help keep the big online retailers from taking over. I was a parts and accessories manager for 14 years and I experienced what hurt the internet has done to the local shops.
Markee
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Markee 12/23/2014 5:48am
12/23/2014 5:48am
Loftin79 wrote:
I think more companies need to introduce these policies to help keep the big online retailers from taking over. I was a parts and accessories manager...
I think more companies need to introduce these policies to help keep the big online retailers from taking over. I was a parts and accessories manager for 14 years and I experienced what hurt the internet has done to the local shops.
I worked at a shop for 13 years (cycling) and the owner refused to participate in a sale, price matching, internet sales, etc... Never changed with the times, had that hard nosed brick and mortar presence. Well after 22 years, he is hanging it up even with his brands not allowing internet bike sales.
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Brad460 12/23/2014 5:51am
12/23/2014 5:51am
Zesiger 112 wrote:
This is BS. So what if a dealer wants to sell at cost instead of retail. Maybe he wants to take care of his customers instead...
This is BS. So what if a dealer wants to sell at cost instead of retail. Maybe he wants to take care of his customers instead of cheat them. We have a local guy like that.

And I do believe there is a way around it. They can't advertise prices. Our local guy u sign up for an email and he will email his specials.
Making a small profit on some handlebars is now called "cheating" your customer? Laughing You must be part of the entitled group...
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Spooner 12/23/2014 5:55am
12/23/2014 5:55am
I don't see the point in allowing 10% off as that just becomes the new retail price so everyone has to do it. I guess it's better than nothing, but there are a lot of brands that have 100% retail MAP policies and it works well. I'm honestly surprised they had no policy before this.
moscrop940
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moscrop940 12/23/2014 6:10am
12/23/2014 6:10am
Jt$ wrote:
Dealers can sell for whatever price they want, this just regulates advertised price.
hvaughn88 wrote:
JT, is this something you see more companies doing in the future? And have the dealers you work with given any indication of their thoughts on...
JT, is this something you see more companies doing in the future? And have the dealers you work with given any indication of their thoughts on it?
Almost every company that is even somewhat big has a MAP policy, why Protaper is having a press release for this is mind boggling and has me scratching my head.

Like JT$ said, every brick and mortar has
the ability to sell any product at whatever price they choose.

All this does is prevent a back and fourth volley of dropping prices. It starts at 100.00, Motosports puts it at 97.00 and sells a bunch, so BTO puts it at 89.00, and it goes until the price is drive so far down every retailer that has an online shop gets screwed at retail.

Anyways to answer the big question here, this in no way,shape, or form affects retail.
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wfo4ever 12/23/2014 8:02am
12/23/2014 8:02am
i have worked in the motorcycle industry for years. Map policy's have been around for quite a while. A dealer or on line retailer can always get around this in many ways as it is only for the advertised price. You can sell product for whatever you want. Plus most company's don't even bother to enforce their policy as it a pain in the ass for them to keep up with. Most will only give a warning after another dealer has complained, the dealers are the "Map Police". Just look on the internet, you can find so much product for less than the map policy pricing all the time. A consumer can buy product on line at or near dealer cost all the time plus with free shipping. Also always try to find a promo code for an even better deal. Brick and mortar stores are fading away because they will always have more overhead than on line retailers and most sell products at or over suggested retail especially on O.E.M. parts. A smart consumer will research product and order on line, save a lot of time & money, and have it delivered for free to their door. Most smart consumers only go to their local dealer to make sure about the sizing of a product like helmets, jackets, riding gear, gloves ect. before they order the same product for less on line. I know a lot of people will say support your local dealer. I know many people that work at dealerships, most of them get a 10% over cost employee discount, but most of them buy on line as it is cheaper than their employee pricing. Just the facts, sad but true.
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Brtp4 12/23/2014 8:34am
12/23/2014 8:34am
Enforcement issues aside, there is a huge difference between a MAP policy that holds retail price, and one that allows 10% off. Straight retail helps brick and mortar and small dealers, and is good for premium brands. 10% off policies benefit online business, especially large ones, by encouraging people to buy where they can get it cheaper - online. There are many causes and effects, but primarily what it does is consolidate sales of a product into the large online stores, those that have the horsepower to coerce to their vendors to their will.


BP
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Zesiger 112 12/23/2014 9:18am
12/23/2014 9:18am
Zesiger 112 wrote:
This is BS. So what if a dealer wants to sell at cost instead of retail. Maybe he wants to take care of his customers instead...
This is BS. So what if a dealer wants to sell at cost instead of retail. Maybe he wants to take care of his customers instead of cheat them. We have a local guy like that.

And I do believe there is a way around it. They can't advertise prices. Our local guy u sign up for an email and he will email his specials.
Gabriel J wrote:
A dealer who wants to sell items at cost won't be a dealer for very long.....That would be cheating himself, and the customer when he goes...
A dealer who wants to sell items at cost won't be a dealer for very long.....That would be cheating himself, and the customer when he goes out of business.
Not exactly at cost but he can't be far above it. For example, 100% goggles, on most of the Internet dealers (bto, motosport, Rocky Mt.) you are looking $75-$80 for the high end Racecraft model. This guy is selling them for $50. He's also selling high end helmets (bell, shoei, arai, 6d) for around $400. And it's working for him, he's been around a few years, sponsors a lot of local riders, not fast loretta riders either just average, and plans to sponsor more coming next year.
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ML512 12/23/2014 9:25am
12/23/2014 9:25am Edited Date/Time 12/23/2014 9:27am
Renthal introduced it a few weeks back as well (both companies are owned by MAG now).

Canon did this for their cameras last year. The goal was to eliminate large online retailers from getting into price wars and taking away from a local business. It's helped keep the smaller stores happy and business more even. But as stated above, they can get away with selling it for cheaper, they just have to be a bit discreet with how they go about it, or do lots of bundle deals where they are getting accessories for free.

Any kind of major discounts have to be approved by the manufacture and then are in most cases available for any retailer to do during that set time (such as a black friday discount)

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bigborefan 12/23/2014 1:18pm
12/23/2014 1:18pm
The problem with the brick and mortar stores IMO, is they have not figured out how to add value to a transaction. Shopping online is so easy. You have the convenience factor, price, no tax lots of times. The online retailer has the advantage most of the time. And their advantage is not always just price. BRTP4 above, he's owns Atomic Moto. He'll spend all day with you helping you figure out what product you need. He and his "wrecking crew" test the products they sell, in the real world. Atomic Moto has a really good rep in the dual sport/adventure riding community. I've spent a few dollars over there.


Another online store that does good work is Revzilla. Rocky MTN ATV does a good job. KTMParts.com used to be the bomb, but they seem to be changing things up a little, and not for the better IMO.

When I lived in OK I dealt with AJAX Kawaskai/KTM. I had a long time relationship with them. They treated me great, good discount, win-win for both of us. They stocked the common things you needed. They could fix things if you needed that.

Then I moved to IL. The local quadplex dealer, they have all four Japanese brands, I stock more parts and chemicals then they do. So IMO, they bring no value to the transaction. They have to order everything, they cannot compete on price, they are not overly friendly, so I am not a customer.

I travel a lot, nationwide, visit a lot of bikes shops. Some get it, some don't. There are a lot of owners out there are all pissed off at the internet and are all jaded about the industry now. My advice, figure out to add value, give the customer a reason to come in and spend money with you. You can't treat a face to face customer impersonally. You have to give them a boutique experience, or they can just sit home in their underwear and order from Rocky MTN.





dazzlindino 12/23/2014 1:27pm
12/23/2014 1:27pm
Loftin79 wrote:
I think more companies need to introduce these policies to help keep the big online retailers from taking over. I was a parts and accessories manager...
I think more companies need to introduce these policies to help keep the big online retailers from taking over. I was a parts and accessories manager for 14 years and I experienced what hurt the internet has done to the local shops.
nutshell....
500guy
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500guy 12/23/2014 1:29pm
12/23/2014 1:29pm
it's against the Law to tell someone what they have to charge for something, this goes way back to the anti trust and monopoly laws.
it is not against the law to say they cannot advertise the price.

end of the line is the Bars will get sold for what ever the Dealer wants to mark it up, He just can't advertise the price below a certain point.
500guy
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500guy 12/23/2014 1:30pm
12/23/2014 1:30pm
Loftin79 wrote:
I think more companies need to introduce these policies to help keep the big online retailers from taking over. I was a parts and accessories manager...
I think more companies need to introduce these policies to help keep the big online retailers from taking over. I was a parts and accessories manager for 14 years and I experienced what hurt the internet has done to the local shops.
dazzlindino wrote:
nutshell....
The Problem is not specific to Moto, The Inter net has ruined many other businesses.

I agree the playing field needs leveled.
bigborefan
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bigborefan 12/23/2014 1:45pm
12/23/2014 1:45pm
The Internet is what you call a "disruptive" technology.
Ryan_Huddleston 12/23/2014 1:48pm
12/23/2014 1:48pm
Virtually every manufacturer has MAP

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