The Supremes effect

[vettecat]

Saw an article in a printer's newsletter today about a Supreme Court decision that will affect us in a positive way. Apparently they've overturned an old antitrust law, with the result that manufacturers can now enforce, rather than merely suggest, retail prices. (I imagine that osewalrus has been following this already.) That's good for us because it should reduce the number of people undercutting our prices and stealing away customers we've worked with. But I wonder how it's going to affect discount chains and such. This should be interesting...

Comments

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

I think the decision is repulsive and will do nothing but hurt consumers. I've been pissed about it since I 1st heard of it the day it came out — damn, a month and a half ago.

I know it's hard not to take that personally, but really, it's not meant that way.

Hopefully I'll be awake enough to explain this later.
I'm not now.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I can see that it might be bad for consumers, but at the moment I'm looking at it from the retailer point of view...

[paradoox.livejournal.com]

Sorry I think you are in the minority here in thinking this is good news. And I have a bridge to sell you if you don't think the big players are getting kickbacks from manufacturers and figuring out ways to screw the little guys like you behind your back.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I don't think we sell for anyone large enough to have that kind of influence.

[sethg]

On the one hand, I think the majority decision made a good argument on economic grounds that allowing manufacturers to dictate minimum prices to retailers is not necessarily a restraint of competition.

On the other hand, the Supremes were not overturning a law--they were overturning their predecessors' interpretation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. That doesn't sit well with me. The old interpretation had been settled for almost a hundred years. It manufacturers had a good case to make for changing it, they should have gone to Congress and convinced our elected representatives to change the law.

I'm also worried that this is part of a broader trend in American jurisprudence to interpret the law in whatever way is most convenient for large corporations.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I don't think this affects the manufacturers much, they still get the same wholesale price regardless of what the product actually sells for.