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Originally Posted by TheGrimm
But then you said that they are not competitors when it comes to setting a "minimum price" which is the part I am disagreeing with. How can they be considered competitors when it comes to a buyers market, but as soon as the tide tips in their favor they are able to state that they aren't in competition with each other so the laws don't apply?
So which is it?
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It seems clear to me, legally they aren't competitors. If they choose to act like competators when it suits them there's nothing wrong with that, because the law doesn't dictate how they must act, just restricts certain actions.
Legally I'm not an airplane. I can choose to act like one if I want, but just because I'm not legally an airplane doesn't mean the law dictates I can't act like an airplane.
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Originally Posted by TheGrimm
But the part I'm really having problems with is the inference by the salesperson that there was some kind of consortium that went on wherein all the dealers (not sure to what extent was implied) got together and decided that they were not going to sell under MSRP or provide incentives.
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Why is it a problem? You still have choice. Sure it's more fun to be in the position of power when in a negotiation, but that can't always be the case. To have a problem with someone else having leverage in a negotiation while being fine when you have the leverage isn't very reasonable.
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Originally Posted by TheGrimm
Like I said, how can they embrace competition in one market and conclude that they aren't competitors in another market and this be OK from a legal perspective.
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Because legal definitions don't dictate their behaviours absolutely, they just dictate what restrictions apply and when. If the restrictions don't apply, then their actions will be whatever combination of things results in the greatest benefit to themselves. Most of the time they think that's competition.
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Originally Posted by TheGrimm
I was able to verify that people in other parts of the country have gotten discounts, so obviously this hasn't been mandated from VW Canada.
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It'd be no different than a group of sales people at a store at Christmas saying they had an agreement to not discount from their commissions to get a sale, they can't compete for customers based on price, but they all get full commissions.