I'm developing a retail ecommerce site and based on feedback from the board, have decided to avoid OEM and stick with branded equipment. At this point, I'm reading reviews and trying to select the best names to carry. For some reason, the distributor is pushing for mostly what I understand to be lower-end, branded-OEM equipment (i.e., Arm, Dedicated, EverFocus), but I'd like to carry at least one strong name at the high-end as well.
However, the distributor told me that manufacturers like Bosch, Panasonic, and Pelco will have fits if you advertise below their published "dealer" prices. Is anyone familiar with how this works? I'm guessing this is why I see the occasional "call for price" listing, but as a purchaser, my experience has been that this is a sales tactic to upsell additional items when I call, so I typically avoid those sites.
What if you have to log in to see price - does that achieve the same goal? From a buyer perspective, what do you prefer? Again, this will primarily be a retail site, as I've already recognized there's no way to compete with the large wholesale distributors.
Note: I realize this more appropriately belongs in the Dealer Forum, but as a newb, I don't yet have enough posts to access this area. If more appropriate, please PM your responses rather than posting to the forum. Thanks!!