i think that minimum advertised pricing is a good thing in the long run, both for real businesses that want to sell and spyderco's value as a brand. the end consumer won't be hit that badly as many established and reputable sellers circumvent MAP by simply not listing the price on their websites and have you add to cart to see the price... a practice im sure the manufacturer would frown at but it is a thing.
It seems to me that MAP stabilizes the market by allowing the serious resellers to play on the same plane while weeding out the resellers trying to make a quick buck by undercutting the competition in price.
you might get a good deal but with a cheap and dirty sale of a quality piece comes issues that the consumer does not perceive. the reseller's ability to serve the customer eventually suffers because the profit margins aren't sustainable, the manufacturer's brand suffers causing the value of their product to go down, rinse and then repeat until there is no more spyderco because resellers profit margins are so low that there is no point in carrying their product anymore (that might be a little dramatic for spyderco but i've seen many a good company go down like that... conversely i've seen many a crappy company go up by demanding their product be advertised at a higher minimum price)
It seems to me that MAP stabilizes the market by allowing the serious resellers to play on the same plane while weeding out the resellers trying to make a quick buck by undercutting the competition in price.
you might get a good deal but with a cheap and dirty sale of a quality piece comes issues that the consumer does not perceive. the reseller's ability to serve the customer eventually suffers because the profit margins aren't sustainable, the manufacturer's brand suffers causing the value of their product to go down, rinse and then repeat until there is no more spyderco because resellers profit margins are so low that there is no point in carrying their product anymore (that might be a little dramatic for spyderco but i've seen many a good company go down like that... conversely i've seen many a crappy company go up by demanding their product be advertised at a higher minimum price)