Does fair trade still exist


When I was growing up in the 70's a lot of products had a fair trade sticker or tag on it. Basically it meant the store could not discount the Item. I guess it must of been a federal law. I haven't seen fair trade stickers or tags on gear in over 25 years. Do these laws still exist on paper or were they overwritten?
taters

Showing 1 response by newbee

"Fair trade" is no longer legal but contracts between manufacturers and retailers usually make it appear that they will sell at the same price or lose their contract. Often it is nothing more than an agreement not to advertise at any price less than the MRSP. What they actually sell for is a different issue, and is in any event virtually uninforcable beyond cancelling the dealer relationship (not a small thing though for many dealers). A direct approact to pass on and advertise a discount under such circumstances is advertising an 'openbox' or 'demo' unit which in fact is new. Interestingly in tightly controlled product distribution many, if not most dealers, will not discount much or at all on the product itself.

That is what I believe anyway.