Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Rumors and speculation are just that, Chris - not lies or slander. Speculate away!!

Hey Mr. hall....im just telling the story as it is!

and youll never hear me critize ANY rickenbacker craftsmanship....If youll note.....I may be the only human on the face of the earth who likes the kauffman issues on the 325/c58s.....Also In the former announcments section i made a post called "A Thankyou to John Hall"....ALSO! I have frequently commented on my personal liking for the 200 series guitars.....so blah!

In the US, a manufacturer may publish a suggested retail price but the dealers themselves decide the final selling price. Makers cannot dictate a selling price.

That's not to be confused with Minimum Advertised Priced (MAP) which if utilized by the manufacturer is only the lowest price a dealer may PUBLISH- he's still free to actually sell it at any price he cares to.

Yes, it is possible to control the supply or otherwise apply pressure off the record- it happens all the time, often with major prestige brands that are marketed by independent sales reps. However, it's a risky business and about as unethical as you can get.

As far as GC goes, I don't think it will matter that much. Every time I've been into one in the Bay Area, they either don't have any Ricks, or the ones that they do have are badly set up and horribly overpriced. The sales drones didn't know anything about them either, and so it's not likely that they were enthusiastic enough to sell them.

However, when I took my 4003 into GC in El Cerrito to try out some Ampeg gear, the sound drew just about all the staff over. They were so inpressed by it that I don't actually believe any one of them had ever really heard one before, at least in that location. They had one on the rack too for once. A 4001 with totally dead strings, and a horribly warped neck that rendered it essentially unplayable, for $1700. It's probably still there.

Mr. Hall, I wasn't aware of those price restictions on manufacturers. I wonder if Randall Smith from Mesa Boogie follows it because if you see a Mesa Boogie amp new in a store, it always has the same price, and the merchant will always say that Mesa Boogie will not allow them to sell it any cheaper or they will lose their dealer status. It wouldn't surprise me if he does apply pressue like this to his dealers as he also keeps patenting stuff as his own that has been used in tube equipment since the 40's. Pretty unethical.

He'd be in serious trouble if he did that down here - you can't force anybody to sell at the RRP and you certainly can't remove dealer status on that basis.

"Hello.... is that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission? Good! I'd like to lodge a complaint, please....."

There are other companies that do the same as M/B, like Ries Tripods, for one.