Minimum Advertised Pricing Policy
Thomson Bike Products, Inc. (Thomson) works hard to ensure that all authorized dealers provide consumers of Thomson products with the advice, service, knowledge, and support necessary to maintain the high level of customer satisfaction we have developed. Certain types of advertising can affect our goodwill and is damaging to the standards and reputation that Thomson has achieved. Therefore, Thomson Bike Products has a Minimum Advertised Price (“MAP”) policy.
Objectives
- To ensure that our dealer-product relationships are consistent and value based
- To maintain the proper positioning of Thomson products in the marketplace
The MAP Policy
Dealers may advertise Thomson products at or above the minimum advertised price. The MAP threshold is less 15% of MSRP. For purposes of the MAP Policy “advertising” means any advertising through authorized media. Authorized media includes but is not limited to billboards, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, brochures, direct mail, retail flyers, television, radio, e-commerce, forums and dealer internet sites or any other method which uses the hypertext transfer protocol (“http”). Any internal link to a web based shopping cart is considered advertising for the purposes of this policy, and/or any other method that Thomson considers traditional.
Advertising at prices below MAP violates the MAP Policy. Any price with a “strike through” treatment is not considered a proper display of the MAP or higher price. Any advertised price, discounts such as coupons, or other free products resulting in an effective advertised price for Thomson products at less than the MAP will constitute a violation of the MAP Policy. A dealer who advertises bundles of products, which include Thomson products, must advertise the price or value of the Thomson products at or above the MAP. For example, the advertised bundle should say “includes Thomson product, which has a suggested retail price of $XX.00 (or higher)”.
The MAP Policy applies only to the dealer’s advertised prices, not selling prices. Dealers are free to sell Thomson products at whatever price they choose. Thomson will monitor compliance with this policy. Thomson may, at its own discretion, stop supplying products to any dealer found to be in violation of the MAP Policy. Questions about whether a planned advertisement complies with this policy should be directed to Thomson Bike Products, Inc. at (478) 788-5052 for guidance.
Thomson products may not be sold on any internet auction sites or third-party websites without the express written permission of Thomson. SmartEtailing/Buy Local Now sales are allowed by this agreement.
Ebay and Amazon are not approved platforms. These platforms will result in an immediate second violation.
MAP Violations Are Handled As Follows
First Violation: Direct Contact by Thomson and/or Distributor
Second Violation: 30 day suspension of sales
Third violation: 90 day suspension of sales
Fourth violation: Permanent suspension of sales
