[ My Nintendo News] Bloomberg: Nintendo stopped Amazon US sales as third-party sellers were offering games lower than advertised rates

Topher

Topher

Identifies as young
Nintendo of America and Amazon.com relationship has been strained to say the least. Today a new Bloomberg report explains what the recent issues were between the two companies which saw Amazon.com miss out on the launch of the popular Nintendo Switch 2. It turns out Nintendo of America were displeased that third party sellers on Amazon were selling video games for lower prices than Nintendo had advertised. They did this by buying the games in bulk from Southeast Asia and exporting them to the United States for cheaper than the recommended retail price. Amazon seemingly failed to stop this from happening so Nintendo decided that the best solution from their point of view was to stop selling their products on Amazon.com. Both companies have denied the Bloomberg report.

"Amazon tried to assuage Nintendo by offering to attach labels to products that guarantee they're authentic. Amazon uses the technique to assure shoppers products aren't counterfeits and to help it track merchandise. But the offer wasn't sufficient, the person said, and Nintendo ultimately opted to pull its products from Amazon in the US."
Click to expand...

mynintendonews.com

Bloomberg: Nintendo stopped Amazon US sales as third-party sellers were offering games lower than advertised rates

Nintendo of America and Amazon.com relationship has been strained to say the least. Today a new Bloomberg report explains what the recent issues were between the two companies which saw Amazon.
mynintendonews.com mynintendonews.com


Tried to get the actual bloomberg article, but it was paywalled and couldn't get the archive version. Here is the link

This does happen on Amazon. Sometimes I'll see reviews on products that complain that the manuals or whatever were in a foreign language.
 
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Woot is plagued with non-US copies.

Not a problem if you plan to keep forever, but the resale value diminishes substantially and you can't even trade them into places like GameStop.
 
Walter Matthau said:
Woot is plagued with non-US copies.

Not a problem if you plan to keep forever, but the resale value diminishes substantially and you can't even trade them into places like GameStop.
Click to expand...
On Amazon at least, if sold by Amazon it's pretty much guaranteed to be regular copy. And most of the times 3rd party vendors list correct region.

It's same on eBay. There is no reason for Nintendo to pull sales from Amazon other than they really really want the stupid $80-€90 pricing to stick.
 
What is a MAP Policy?
MAP stands for "Minimum Advertised Price." A MAP policy is a formal agreement that brands use to set the lowest price at which their products can be advertised. In addition to establishing this minimum price, the policy also specifies the consequences for not complying and the steps to address any violations.

MAP Pricing vs. MSRP
To understand the difference, think of the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) as a suggested ceiling for the price, while the MAP serves as an enforced floor. MSRP is intended for consumers, offering a benchmark price, whereas MAP is directed at retailers to prevent undercutting.

Consequences of Price Violations
Selling a product above the MSRP typically just leads to fewer sales due to competitive pricing. However, pricing below the MAP can lead to more serious repercussions, such as temporary suspension from selling the product, being barred from reordering, or even having the business relationship terminated—depending on the terms of the MAP policy.
Joseph Gordon Levitt Thank You GIF

Also, I don't know who needs to hear it, but Nintendo did not invent this and your favorite manufacturer also probably has one.
 
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Zacfoldor said:
What is a MAP Policy?
MAP stands for "Minimum Advertised Price." A MAP policy is a formal agreement that brands use to set the lowest price at which their products can be advertised. In addition to establishing this minimum price, the policy also specifies the consequences for not complying and the steps to address any violations.

MAP Pricing vs. MSRP
To understand the difference, think of the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) as a suggested ceiling for the price, while the MAP serves as an enforced floor. MSRP is intended for consumers, offering a benchmark price, whereas MAP is directed at retailers to prevent undercutting.

Consequences of Price Violations
Selling a product above the MSRP typically just leads to fewer sales due to competitive pricing. However, pricing below the MAP can lead to more serious repercussions, such as temporary suspension from selling the product, being barred from reordering, or even having the business relationship terminated—depending on the terms of the MAP policy.
Joseph Gordon Levitt Thank You GIF

Also, I don't know who needs to hear it, but Nintendo did not invent this and your favorite manufacturer also probably has one.
Click to expand...
Selling for higher prices is ok, selling for lower prices can lead to suspension.

Very anti-consumer.
 
Topher said:
Nintendo of America and Amazon.com relationship has been strained to say the least. Today a new Bloomberg report explains what the recent issues were between the two companies which saw Amazon.com miss out on the launch of the popular Nintendo Switch 2. It turns out Nintendo of America were displeased that third party sellers on Amazon were selling video games for lower prices than Nintendo had advertised. They did this by buying the games in bulk from Southeast Asia and exporting them to the United States for cheaper than the recommended retail price. Amazon seemingly failed to stop this from happening so Nintendo decided that the best solution from their point of view was to stop selling their products on Amazon.com. Both companies have denied the Bloomberg report.



mynintendonews.com

Bloomberg: Nintendo stopped Amazon US sales as third-party sellers were offering games lower than advertised rates

Nintendo of America and Amazon.com relationship has been strained to say the least. Today a new Bloomberg report explains what the recent issues were between the two companies which saw Amazon.
mynintendonews.com mynintendonews.com


Tried to get the actual bloomberg article, but it was paywalled and couldn't get the archive version. Here is the link

This does happen on Amazon. Sometimes I'll see reviews on products that complain that the manuals or whatever were in a foreign language.
Click to expand...
"Seemingly failed." Woot has the UAE versions of games many times. I don't begrudge someone who's okay with that, but I (okay, my OCD) want my packaging to pretty much match.
 
I preordered DK Bananza from Amazon. Hopefully it's authentic. Says sold by Amazon so it's probably fine.
 
nintendos and amazon says faaaaakkkeeee

"There is no such fact. We do not disclose details of negotiations or contracts with retailers," a Nintendo spokesperson said in an e-mailed response, declining to elaborate further.

An Amazon spokesperson said "the claims made by Bloomberg regarding our relationship with Nintendo are inaccurate" but declined to specify how. "Amazon is pleased to offer Nintendo products directly to our customers as part of our commitment to providing an exceptional shopping experience with the widest selection possible," the spokesperson said.
Click to expand...
 
So they should stop selling their games and console in Germany. You can find any first party switch 1 game used for 25 euros or less.
 
Nintendo is so out of touch. The fact that they still haven't renamed Diddy Kong or killed the character off was already telling. I'm not surprise.
 
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GHG said:
Nintendo are such control freaks it's insane.
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Two questions:

1. Did you read the entire story?
2. Do you know what MAP is and why companies use it, along with the fact that all of your favorite companies have and use them as well?
 
Zacfoldor said:
What is a MAP Policy?
MAP stands for "Minimum Advertised Price." A MAP policy is a formal agreement that brands use to set the lowest price at which their products can be advertised. In addition to establishing this minimum price, the policy also specifies the consequences for not complying and the steps to address any violations.

MAP Pricing vs. MSRP
To understand the difference, think of the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) as a suggested ceiling for the price, while the MAP serves as an enforced floor. MSRP is intended for consumers, offering a benchmark price, whereas MAP is directed at retailers to prevent undercutting.

Consequences of Price Violations
Selling a product above the MSRP typically just leads to fewer sales due to competitive pricing. However, pricing below the MAP can lead to more serious repercussions, such as temporary suspension from selling the product, being barred from reordering, or even having the business relationship terminated—depending on the terms of the MAP policy.
Joseph Gordon Levitt Thank You GIF

Also, I don't know who needs to hear it, but Nintendo did not invent this and your favorite manufacturer also probably has one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, cut through all the bullshit and this is also known as price fixing
 
Topher said:
Yeah, cut through all the bullshit and this is also known as price fixing
Click to expand...
Not really - price fixing is when two rival companies get together and plan their pricing schemes together to keep the price of what they are both selling artificially high.
 
Yeah actually I got gifted Fire Emblem Engage by someone who unknowingly bought the PEGI version off of Amazon because it was listed cheaper. Not a huge deal but it fucks up my bookshelf since the title is center justified and all of the American copies are left justified
 
poppabk said:
Not really - price fixing is when two rival companies get together and plan their pricing schemes together to keep the price of what they are both selling artificially high.
Click to expand...

Perhaps. I'm sure my "walks like a duck" argument wouldn't hold up in court, but looks like a duck to me.
 
poppabk said:
Not really - price fixing is when two rival companies get together and plan their pricing schemes together to keep the price of what they are both selling artificially high.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's true. There was a case where three major grocery chains in my country got together to sell bread at inflated prices. They got caught and we all received gift cards for a small amount as compensation.
 
Topher said:
Perhaps. I'm sure my "walks like a duck" argument wouldn't hold up in court, but looks like a duck to me.
Click to expand...

I wonder if this falls under the realm of "anti-competitive" in some way. It definitely suppresses competition, but I'm not well-versed in this field of law so am not sure about the anti-trust part.
 
laynelane said:
I wonder if this falls under the realm of "anti-competitive" in some way. It definitely suppresses competition, but I'm not well-versed in this field of law so am not sure about the anti-trust part.
Click to expand...

Just feels illegal, don't it? Probably why Amazon and Nintendo were so eager to deny it.
 
Switch game is cheaper in Southeast Asia . I see Amazon is reason why retailer in SEA got their game late or shortage of copy lately . We used to get game before global released date and now we have to wait for 1 to 4 week later because amazon hoarding all the stock from us
 
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Topher said:
Perhaps. I'm sure my "walks like a duck" argument wouldn't hold up in court, but looks like a duck to me.
Click to expand...
Maps don't limit lowest price, they limit lowest advertised price,
Anytime you see "see price in cart" thats a map in effect
 
Walter Matthau said:
Woot is plagued with non-US copies.

Not a problem if you plan to keep forever, but the resale value diminishes substantially and you can't even trade them into places like GameStop.
Click to expand...

The return situation got so bad they needed to make a banner to warn people so they can't return them. That's how you know it was being badly exploited. The average joe flipper/dropshipper has figured out foreign exchange rate arbitrage (in the dumbest way possible). We are seeing it happen in North America now too, you can buy the same game from Canada (check VGP) and save a good chunk of money.

And I don't trust Nintendo's or Amazon's statements on this one bit. If there was no problem Amazon would be printing cash money right now selling every Nintendo product under the sun. It's not something they'll admit.
 
Zacfoldor said:
What is a MAP Policy?
MAP stands for "Minimum Advertised Price." A MAP policy is a formal agreement that brands use to set the lowest price at which their products can be advertised. In addition to establishing this minimum price, the policy also specifies the consequences for not complying and the steps to address any violations.

MAP Pricing vs. MSRP
To understand the difference, think of the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) as a suggested ceiling for the price, while the MAP serves as an enforced floor. MSRP is intended for consumers, offering a benchmark price, whereas MAP is directed at retailers to prevent undercutting.

Consequences of Price Violations
Selling a product above the MSRP typically just leads to fewer sales due to competitive pricing. However, pricing below the MAP can lead to more serious repercussions, such as temporary suspension from selling the product, being barred from reordering, or even having the business relationship terminated—depending on the terms of the MAP policy.
Joseph Gordon Levitt Thank You GIF

Also, I don't know who needs to hear it, but Nintendo did not invent this and your favorite manufacturer also probably has one.
Click to expand...

MAP should absolutely be illegal at a federal level, full stop. It's extortive price control/fixing and racketeering carried out by defacto oligopolies. It is the furthest thing from free market capitalism one can imagine, introduced to protect leech middle men from more efficient business models--at your expense.
 
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Furukawa's Nintendo is very different from Iwata's. He's a control freak..

Even Yamauchi wasn't this bad.
 
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wow, this company is just horrid. Their greed is so wild, nevermind throwing in EA, Activsion, Ubisoft or Take Two into those conversations, Nintendo fucking has them beat...

FULL PRICE PORTS... getting fucking triggered that someone is selling the game cheaper on Amazon, whats next, they going to sue Ebay?

Nintendo have always been higher priced, but lately this level of greed is reaching some wild fucking levels of anti-customer
 
Haint said:
MAP should absolutely be illegal at a federal level, full stop. It's extortive price control/fixing and racketeering carried out by defacto oligopolies. It is the furthest thing from free market capitalism one can imagine, introduced to protect leech middle men from more efficient business models.
Click to expand...

Was doing some reading on this. This MAP shit has only been considered legal in the US since 2007, per Supreme Court ruling. Ironically, that was the same court that gave corporations the ability to bribe....err....."finance campaigns" of people running for office. Not getting into the politics, but in a nutshell, this is legalized price fixing.
 
Bridges said:
Yeah actually I got gifted Fire Emblem Engage by someone who unknowingly bought the PEGI version off of Amazon because it was listed cheaper. Not a huge deal but it fucks up my bookshelf since the title is center justified and all of the American copies are left justified
Click to expand...
Just turn all of them backwards, problem solved.
 
poppabk said:
Not really - price fixing is when two rival companies get together and plan their pricing schemes together to keep the price of what they are both selling artificially high.
Click to expand...
Yes… and normally Nintendo (in this case) and retailers agree to the MAP in order to keep prices … high.
 
Topher said:
Was doing some reading on this. This MAP shit has only been considered legal in the US since 2007, per Supreme Court ruling. Ironically, that was the same court that gave corporations the ability to bribe....err....."finance campaigns" of people running for office. Not getting into the politics, but in a nutshell, this is legalized price fixing.
Click to expand...
Yep, but considering our current Supreme Court, that ain't happening. And yeah, that damned Citizen United has been an absolute plague.
 
Furball said:
Switch game is cheaper in Southeast Asia . I see Amazon is reason why retailer in SEA got their game late or shortage of copy lately . We used to get game before global released date and now we have to wait for 1 to 4 week later because amazon hoarding all the stock from us
Click to expand...
Amazon itself isn't hoarding anything and the company isn't buying these SE Asia games (or European ones).

3rd party resellers are buying things up, shipping to different countries, and selling games there on Amazon.
 
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