Accuquilt GoNO MORE SALES ANYWHERE!
 

I don't have any idea how many of you use Accuquilt Go but I just received a message from one of the vendors I've used stating that after May 15 NO ONE will be allowed to sell at less than the recommended price set by the company. Sounds like no more sales anywhere to me unless Accuquilt gives permission for a special promotion at their discretion. I've pasted a portion of the email below:

We had been informed about a month ago that Accuquilt was going to announce a new pricing policy that would drastically restrict dealers from offering promotional prices on Accuquilt products. Yesterday we received notification that their new pricing policy will go into effect on May 15, 2014. Frankly this is the most restrictive pricing policy we have ever seen. This new pricing policy prohibits anyone from selling Accuquilt products for less than their suggested price.

Accuquilts policy states "In the event Accuquilt determines, in our reasonable discretion, that a reseller has advertised or offered or sold any of our products at a price below our minimum advertised price, we will terminate our existing relationship with that reseller, cancel all current orders from that reseller or instruct our distributor to indefinitely refuse to accept any additional orders for our products from that reseller."

wow - thanks for this info. I can buy dies for a 30% discount - so better get to the store tomorrow to see what they have that I might need in the future.

I don't own one of these, and this is just one more reason why I won't buy the product in the future. I'm surprised that they've decided to go in that direction, because the legality of minimum resale price agreements varies from state to state and can always be challenged.

Price fixing is where more than one company engages in setting a market price. This is just one company setting the price for its own products.

There are a lot of products like that and I am fairly sure Accuquilt has always had that policy. If you look at the coupons from Joann's they will not apply to Accuquilt.

I usually buy only from Accuquilt on-line because they have good discounts, free shipping from time to time and don't charge our sales tax. They are making it competitive for all their retailers by having such a policy.

I agree. It is price fixing. I don't know HOW they will tell the larger chain stores what price to set on their products.

it is not price fixing.
it's odd and will be inconvenient to their customers, but it is not price fixing.

i wonder if they are hoping more people will shop directly from their website.
they always have something on sale.

perhaps if you write or call the company they will explain their reasons.

This is not price fixing. One must consider the two roles being played - the role of the manufacturer and the role of the retailer. The manufacturer wants the consumer to buy their product. (Coke wants you to buy Coke not Pepsi) They don't care where they buy it but rather they buy their product. The retailer wants the consumer to shop at their store. (Walmart wants you shop there and not at Target) They don't care what you buy there (Coke or Pepsi) but that you come to their store over some other store. This often puts these two parties - the manufacturer and the retailer - at odds when it comes to pricing because pricing is often used to entice consumers to buy a particular product or shop at a certain store.

Pricing is also used to position a product as prestige, economical etc. Pricing is part of the whole package is setting how the consumer perceives the product. When a retailer sets too low of a price, either by the pricing or coupon discount, sale etc, of a product that the manufacturer wants to present as high end it can also cause problems.

In a 1911 US Supreme court ruling (Dr. Miles Medical Company) mandatory minimum resale price agreements between a manufacturer and retailers were per se illegal. This interpretation of the law held until about 6 years ago when this issue was again brought up before the US Supreme Court (Leegin Creative Leather Products Inc. v. Kay’s Kloset). In this case the Court agreed with the argument that economic environment had changed since 1911 and that now manufacturers could set minimum price agreements but the "law of reason" would apply. The "law of reason" meant that manufacturers must consider all the circumstances surrounding the agreement to assure that it does not restrict competition or facilitate other pricing which is considered illegal.

So, in a nutshell, it is not price fixing and it is not illegal. Probably more information that you expected. Sorry, got carried away. Used to be a professor in business at a university. At least you got the short lecture!
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I usually order from the website. I get reward points, good sales, and excellent customer service. Watch the online shops that sell Accuquilt, some will stop selling the dies and will have them on clearance. They can sell at clearance prices if they aren't going to continue to sell.

Citrus County Quilter - thanks for taking the time to share all of those details. So it may not sound illegal but I'm thinking it's not a good business practice. There are probably a lot of people who think like I do and simply won't buy a die or as many now; I have seen some good 30, 40, 50% sales in stores and on-line. Unless I were really desperate, I wouldn't pay $40-70 and more for one die that will only occasionally be used. When Accuquilt runs a sale I've always been able to find what I want cheaper elsewhere. I'm glad I have purchased most of the basic ones I'd want already. I've seen some comments from people who were considering buying an AccuquiltGo and now most likely will not. Might be a positive for their competitors!

Wow. I'm glad I ditched my Go for the Big Shot Pro. I do like my Go dies but I like that I can also use Sizzix dies which do go on sale often. I'll have to pass this info on to my sister who does have the Go.

I never buy a die unless it's on sale. IMO, the regulate prices for most of the dies are high. So unless they allow periodic sales, I know I will be buying way less.

[QUOTE=citruscountyquilter;6715100]This is not price fixing. One must consider the two roles being played - is an eche role of the manufacturer and the role of the retailer. The manufacturer wants the consumer to buy their product. (Coke wants you to buy Coke not Pepsi) They don't care where they buy it but rather they buy their product. The retailer wants the consumer to shop at their store. (Walmart wants you shop there and not at Target) They don't care what you buy there (Coke or Pepsi) but that you come to their store over some other store. This often puts these two parties - the manufacturer and the retailer - at odds when it comes to pricing because pricing is often used to entice consumers to buy a particular product or shop at a certain store.

Pricing is also used to position a product as prestige, economical etc. Pricing is part of the whole package is setting how the consumer perceives the product. When a retailer sets too low of a price, either by the pricing or coupon discount, sale etc, of a product that the manufacturer wants to present as high end it can also cause problems.

In a 1911 US Supreme court ruling (Dr. Miles Medical Company) mandatory minimum resale price agreements between a manufacturer and retailers were per se illegal. This interpretation of the law held until about 6 years ago when this issue was again brought up before the US Supreme Court (Leegin Creative Leather Products Inc. v. Kay’s Kloset). In this case the Court agreed with the argument that economic environment had changed since 1911 and that now manufacturers could set minimum price agreements but the "law of reason" would apply. The "law of reason" meant that manufacturers must consider all the circumstances surrounding the agreement to assure that it does not restrict competition or facilitate other pricing which is considered illegal.

So, in a nutshell, it is not price fixing and it is not illegal. Probably more information that you expected. Sorry, got carried away. Used to be a professor in business at a university. At least you got the short lecture!
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For the record, I don't own this product nor do I plan to only because I don't have a need. That said, this is an excellent explanation. Don't think it's too wordy at all. Very explicit and concise info...imo.

Well, I already didn't own a Accuquilt because it was too pricey, so this isn't going to help them reach new customers.

I guess I think differently. I don't feel guilty buying a die that I may use one time or fifty. The dies aren't that expensive even at regular price for the value.

I had previously thought about getting one of these.
But quite frankly I REFUSE to spend that much money
on something that has to be done with manual turning.

Templates, scissors and/or rotary cutter works good enough
for me and is much cheaper.

Glad I never invested in one. I too think it s poor business,they are getting paid buy the stores buying from them at a set rate so to me they have their money, why do they care what it is sold for. The thing is already too expensive, I mean really

Oh! That's too bad, I was thinking of buying one as my local quilt shop was having a special class and all, and I really have liked what I've seen, but I may as well pass as I don't fancy their full prices moving forward.

I had a scuba diving shop and while most of the brands carried had msrp and map (Minimum advertised price). Every once in a blue moon a vendor would get kinda uppity and launch this same shot over the proverbial bow of minimum allowable. What usually went on was two fold. 1. Some brick and mortar shop would get mad that bigger or online presences would sell at a discount. People would ask brick and mortar shop to price match and the owner didnt like the smaller margin. At 40% off I am guessing the smaller shops margin shrunk to less than 5% after price matching. And more than likely The product line has a poorly thought out reseller pricing tier that really sticks it to the smaller volume shops. This is usuallywhat is happening. Or 2. The accuquilt corporate sales were hurting the reseller because the pricing tier is not well thought out and the corporate sales were hurting their resellers and the resellers complained and said they wont support accuquilt as a product line any more.

I helped one of the dive industry manufacturers with their map/msrp policy and it forced minimum advertised pricing for everyone. Online, papers, magazines, etc all had one lowest price on non clearance products. But tht still allowed brick and mortar shops to have walk ins and sell to them at any price they wanted, because really it should be the resellers choice what margins they want to make in their own house. Online only shops had to meet the MAP pricing, and only in store sales could be priced lower. It meant the brick and mortar guys had freedom and the sandbox was the same for everyone when it came to advertising. We also reworked the tier pricing to be nicer to smaller shops and support smaller businesses.

Don't own one...probaby won't now.

This is really old news. Accuquilt implemented the policy last year. All the merchants and reps knew the deadline was May 15, 2014.

Yes, it is old news but I guess those who are selling dies at discounted prices are now trying to clear their inventory and will probably not be a distributor for the company any longer for whatever reason. I own a GO and have many dies, all purchased at "discounted" price from other than accuquilt company......this decision is going to chance my future purchases, if any! The mfgr never had the best price that WAS out there...sad thing is they just announced 11new dies...and I was tempted on a few, but not now...lived with rotary cutter and mat and will go back to that more often now....I think the company is getting greedy...unless, of course, they will sell us the dies at the price they were charging their distributors.....that would be a good trade off. JMHO

Joann has them on sale right now. 30 percent off.

They're not going to hear complaints here. I e-mailed them with my dismay. If you don't like what's happpening, take it to the source! It may fall on deaf ears, but at least they'll know. Their email address is [email protected]

I have bought many dies at the retail price when the one I wanted wasn't on sale anywhere. I like a good sale price but that isn't going to stop me from buying the dies I want. It's easy to find sales on other items to make up for the non sale price of a die.

Cindi - GOOD suggestion - done!

Hmmm... I wonder what's going to happen at Nancy's Notions.... I have bought quite a few dies from there, and they are always on sale for a small discount. I have bought from Accuquilt directly also, but you need to spend $100 to get free shipping from them, and I always get shipping free from Nancy. Oh well, I have only a few dies already, and I don't plan on getting the entire line, so I will just be selective with my purchases. Nobody needs every single die anyway. :)

I don't need them but that doesn't matter, I want them. LOL I seldom use my rotary cutter anymore. If there is a die for the size I want to cut I will buy the die. I haven't cut a quilt pattern with a rotary cutting in a long time. I'm spoiled to perfect cuts.

... I just received a message from one of the vendors I've used stating that after May 15 NO ONE will be allowed to sell at less than the recommended price set by the company. Sounds like no more sales anywhere to me unless Accuquilt gives permission for a special promotion at their discretion.

Sew glad I invested in Sizzix

I won this Sizzix Vagabond electric die cut machine ( http://www.sizzix.com/product/656850...-tim-holtz-reg) and several small shape dies on a blog give away when the Vagabond first came out. It's nice for scrapbooking and cardmaking but not that many quilting dies to choose. I guess I could sell it and buy the new Go dies.

Even if it's old news to you, it may not be to everyone else. I don't go looking all over just on the off chance there's some kind of MAP or pricing news. My sister didn't know about it either. And even if it's old news, it's just going into effect so some may not have remembered about it from last year. I'm glad the OP posted it.

If I understand this thing correctly.

No seller may sell this for less than X.

However, any seller may sell this product for X or X+ whatever the traffic will bear???

I think you've got it right, bearisgray.

One thing to keep in mind is that we don't know what the required minimum price is. The minimum may still be as low as or lower than the sale prices you're used to paying. If Joann's, (just for example) is already marking them up 50% over minimum, they can still put them on sale for 30% off retail price because it'll still be above the manufacturer's required minimum. (I have no idea if those numbers are correct or reasonable, just throwing them out there as illustration.)

So don't panic yet, this might not affect you Go! owners as much as you fear. :)

But the emails posted say retail. So unless they change the retail prices it will be higher anyway. I asked on their FB page but they never answered.

Reducing the price on the cutters does not benefit existing customers. It only helps to entice new customers. Also, I have purchased many of the 29.99 or less dies, on sale, cheaper then the accuquilt new price. I am anxious to see what the monthly promotions are. Hopefully, they will be equivalent to the sales, including shipping, I've found this past year. I love this product, but am disappointed in this new policy.

I'm with Auntevie on this one.

I too have received 4 messages from all that I deal with. All I can say is this S--Ks. We who own the Go always look at the Dies. Myself e over 40 of them and never paid full price. Now they are coming out with 10 new ones. I will not be buying anymore dies.

Personally I appreciate the company responding and they are within their rights to control what their product sells for, after all they are in the business to make money. Having said that I will say I have never purchased any of the higher priced dies but have purchased those less than 30 dollars which means I don't have that many. I will be watching to see what the additional dies for 30 dollars will include I just hope that the dies aren't geared toward children as most of them are now.