Mamiya USA is an excellent example of a distributor with protected
territory. Back when I was shooting RZ, I wanted to buy some new gear
and searched the Web for it. Found the well reviewed Cathay Photo and
was amazed at how much lower their prices were than the best U.S.
prices -- 35~50% less. However, when I tried to make a purchase they
told me they were not allowed to ship to the U.S. under pain of losing
the Mamiya line. Very frustrating to know that the exact same gear
can be had for much less and the distributor was obviously taking a
nice markup. Certainly they have a right to do so, but as a child of
a Capitalist country I chafe over restraint of trade. Interesting
lesson on the concept of 'what the market will bear'.
ScottGee1
On 9/29/05, Andrew Dacey <adacey@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> On 9/29/05, tOM Trottier <tOM@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > I'd be surprised if Olympus could enforce restrictions on dealers. Doesn't
> > the US
> > have laws against "restraint of trade", especially re foreign markets.
>
> I know in some cases it's an issue with different companies holding
> the trademark in different countries. I seem to recall that's why
> Mamiya equipment is more expensive in North America compared to other
> countries.
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