Festool UK TTS fined 8.2 million Euros for price fixing in Europe!

D

disgruntled_user

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As a long term Festool user I am happy to see that Festool are finally being investigated for their price fixing and underhanded techniques in Europe!

http://www.bundeskartellamt.de/wEnglisch/News/press/2012_08_20.php

Bonn, 20 August 2012: The Bundeskartellamt has imposed a fine of 8.2 million Euros on TTS Tooltechnic Systems Deutschland GmbH, Wendlingen ("TTS") for setting up and imposing a vertical resale price maintenance system.
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The proceedings were triggered by complaints from the specialist trade, which had been asked by TTS to strictly observe the "non-binding price recommendation" (RRP). The specialist outlets were threatened with disadvantages such as worse conditions or contract suspension if they deviated from this price.
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Discuss!
 
[scared]

Hopefully this will stay open as I'm sure a lot of owners would like to discuss their experiences.

What is next for Festool in the UK I wonder, direct sales through the website? No more dealers?

[eek]
 
I'm with Ron here, not seeing where the fine or infraction/crime is.  Here in the US, I think it helps the local sellers of Festool since their price will be the same as a much larger place that is in another city, or has an on-line presence that maybe the local seller has trouble competing with. So, you see dealers use great customer service as a sure way to stand out among all the other Festool Retailers who offer the same product at the same price, from state to state.
This benefits the end user on their purchasing choices, and probably helps Festool enjoy a better customer satisfaction rating too.
In other words, Festool doesn't have to worry about one or two dealers offering extreme discounts on tools, just to sell them, with little to no regard on the dealers part to make sure the end user will know how to get the best from the tool.
I would LOVE to see this business model applied to the car industry for a 5 year period to see how well, or poorly, it does wtih everyone from the customer in the showroom, to the manuf. as well.
 
Hey guys I choose to buy festool no body puts my arm up my back to force me into buying them it's my choice , try buying a Mercedes Benz it's the same thing you pay your money and the choice is yours , just my opinion though.
 
Green fever this is very true. But if I was buying 3 Mercedes I would want discount or a "deal" and I'm sure they would do something for spending a large amount. If I was to buy 3 festool I would want the same but would get nothing.

If a customer wanted a door fitting and you said 50 quid, then they asked for 3 more to be fit would they still be 50 quid or slightly cheaper as your already on site with tools out.
 
Nope same price for doors , hey someone has to pay for my Mercedes, I did buy new and I even had to pay for the floor mats.
 
I understand all that. I like a deal when I'm spending a lot. In this climate if I had a customer wanting to spend alot of money with me I would want to make a profit, now if that ment discounting to get a deal then I would. profit is profit.

I would spend more if  dealers could discount greater on the more I spent in one purchase. If you know a dealer who likes a deal let me know, I can be his friend
 
I liked it when i bought the countersink, they said it cant be discounted more that whatever, i said its alot of money for a counter sink that i dont know if its anygood, they opened the pack put it in the drill and said try it. I drilled 1 hole with it and said its not too bad, they put it in the pack and said '"well its ex demo now so you can have it for £x"
 
I think the specific reason appears to relate to disadvantaging consumers, which is why the have these competition laws, specifically:-

"Particularly in the case of products with significant market relevance, vertical resale price maintenance harms both the consumer and craftsmen`s trade. In order to achieve effective deterrence in such cases, an appropriate fine is therefore necessary"

So if I were TTS I would take this a side handed compliment. Basically its saying there are few competitors which products of this quality, thats why we don't like the fact that you try and hold the prices high across the board
 
jmbfestool said:
Deansocial said:
But jmb if you bought 3 mercs you would get a discount.
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AND...?   not saying you wont  just saying if you didnt you wouldnt buy them just like if festool didnt give you discount if you bought 3 drills  you dont have to buy the 3 drills.    Seen as Merc gives you discount then you will buy the cars but again mercecades dont have to give you discount they only do it to get you to buy their cars  because if they didnt you would go and buy a BWM or Audi  they know that.   Festool know you will still buy their tools so fair play to them!  IF you dont buy festool and every one around the world stops buying festool because of the no discounting then festool will be forced to discount.

I dont get your point?!
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I think you explained your point above.. you have a choice of equally (am sure some will argue) good barnds, e.g. be it BMW, Audi, Merc, if you read between the line of the german press release the gripe is that prices are being force held, and the consumer doesn't have that much comparable choice (e.g. there aren't 3 systems out of the market like the Domino). Thing is, what I think is a bit strange is that if there tools were crap, no one would be complaining about this as they just wouldn't bother buying them, so its because they are good (in their legal speak "products with significant market relevance") that they are getting fined
 
jmbfestool said:
So you meant buying 3 mercs over a period of years?! Loyalty!   Well you say that but works both ways if your happy with the merc and if their was a problem with the car and merc fixed it with no hassle etc then dont you think thats fair?  Why when you go back and buy another merc it should be discounted knowing the great service they provided?!  
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Nothing comes for free, have you ever had to pay for Merc, Audi etc standard service.. good service is built into the cost of a product, so yes re Merc, I would ask for a discount if I went back a few years later.. as they would give it!

jmbfestool said:
If you do a job for some one and 1 year later they call you up to do anther job should the client be expecting a lower day rate from you because they were being loyal to you?  Or is it because they know you do a good job so they pay you your going rate and in return you give them a good quality job?
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Probably not.. but the chances are that if you are good I would refer you to firends and family and you would get lots of other jobs on the back of it (e.g. I reward your quality with lots of leads), and honestly, if I then asked you to do me a small job, I would expect mates rates, its all reciprical, what goes around comes around

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If i bulk buy 3 merc yeah i want em cheaper, if i bulk buy 3 festools yeah i want them cheaper.

If i buy a new merc from the same dealer every 2 years i want something special thrown in the deal

If i buy my festools from the same dealer each time i expect to be looked after on price too.

 
At the end of the day everyone on here knows festool are not cheap but we keep buying them because ther top quality. I'm  looking at buying a rotex90 and a domino jointer. I know the price is the same across the dealers.     Ya a discount would be nice but Its not going to stop me buying them.      And I'm sure we're all the same.     Luke
 
It annoys me that dealers want to discount to loyal customers but festool wont let them. Some do on the sly, you know jmb
 
I look after people that give me work, just small gestures really like doing something a little extra for nothing. Like giving someone a slab of granite for free [tongue]
 
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