Does fair trade still exist

The oil companies don't price gas at the pump, the retailers do.

Fair trade laws were enacted on a state-by-state basis, but they were deemed unlawful by the FTC and in a large number of actions in various Federal Courts in the early 1980s.

So, manufacturers cannot dictate to resellers at what price they can sell products to customers (with certain exceptions), but what they do often require resellers to comply with minimum advertised pricing (MAP), which has been deemed legal in most (if not every) state.

Samsung has been using what it calls a "Unilateral Pricing Policy" or UPP. They dictate what the price will be and all retailers follow suit. It can vary every few days depending on sales.

I thought it strange, at first, until I kept up with the ads and got a great deal on a 51" plasma TV. One day it was going for $1397 ($100 down from full retail) to $997. The price was only good for 4 days and then went up to $1497.

Christmas came early for me!

I guess it pays to pay attention to trending prices and be a more informative buyer.

All the best,
Nonoise

Let Google be your friend . . .

Whether we call it price fixing or something else, it still represents an attempt by the manufacturer to disrupt free market competition among its dealers. Many manufacturers dread having their products become commodities and try to keep retail prices artificially high to prevent it. The high end audio world is a Rolex and Champagne one,and preserving the image of ones product as a rare, unique, and expensive acquisition is essential to marketing to the high end customer.