Resmed price fixing

[quote="Anonymous"]For the last time....they ARENT price increases!!!!!!!!!!!!!
. (which, rightfully, uses brick-and-mortar DMEs to sell its products)

.

Anonymous wrote:For the last time....they ARENT price increases!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent point !!

This needs to be viewed in the proper context. It's really just a 40% NEGATIVE DISCOUNT, not a 40% price increase. For that I will recommend that you get a negative 40% RAISE! and a whoppin negative $FORTY-GRAND Christmas bonus. But I'm not sure exactly where to send my letter of recommendation. Which anonymous brick-and-mortar shelter do you report to? My first guess would be Apria, whose good service and quality personnel are legendary. And I sympathize with how they might resent competition of any kind. But I don't mean to single them out, the list is endless. Thanks Brick for enlightening us. (Or was it Mortar? the other half of the blood-sucking dynamic duo, here to rescue us from the evils of health and prosperity).

Anonymous wrote:Use your head. I can't wait until Resmed just starts selling directly to patients over the internet. What's the diff?

If this conversation starts to make sense, somebody please let me know. Don't explain. Just maybe wink, or wiggle your ears. I'll wait for the signal.

-Ric

[quote="MandoJohnny"]....
Price fixing is a felony in the US (and probably in Australia also) and its elements are clearly defined. Price fixing is when companies get together and all agree up front what prices will be and they all raise thier prices. If you do not have evidence this has happened, then it is not price fixing. If ResMed just decides to raise prices and others follow suit, that is that is just a market adjustment.

Look, nobody likes it when prices go up. But ResMed is free to set thier prices however they like. They are betting it will result in increased profits, which is what they are in business to do. They are a for-profit company, not a welfare organization. This decision could just as easily result in lower profits and then their shareholders will say they screwed up. Only time will tell..

Anonymous wrote:For the last time....they ARENT price increases!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's Resmed telling internet "companies" to quit bargain-basement pricing their products which does nothing more than dilute Resmed's original distribution map (which, rightfully, uses brick-and-mortar DMEs to sell its products)

The internet retailers started this. They could have provided the same good service, quality personnel, chat boards, etc., WITHOUT selling medical devices at such low-ball prices. Use your head. I can't wait until Resmed just starts selling directly to patients over the internet. What's the diff?

They may not be price increases to the online sellers, but they're damn sure price increases to the end users! ResMed is telling the online sellers to set their prices at what ResMed tells them to.....that is "FIXING" prices....plain and simple.

"They could not have provided the same good service, quality personnel,...." as WHOM?.....the "brick and mortar" DMEs??? HA! That's what's driven so many people to the Internet sellers in the first place.....high prices and lousy service.

Why don't you try to convince K-Mart, Shopko, Target and Wal-Mart to sell all of their items at full, retail prices? See where THAT goes.....

If it wasn't for sucking (our) money out of the insurance industry and Medicare, the "brick and mortar" folks would have a different situation. The whole insurance thing and medical costs have gotten WAY out of hand.

Den

Resmed is free to do whatever they like within the law. That does not make it right. Buyers of cpap products can do any fool thing with their money. Buying Resmed products is a fool thing. There are excellent competing products. I choose to buy from companies that respect me. I choose to buy from companies that support patient chosen distribution channels. I chose not to buy from brick and mortar dealers. I will not stop telling others about Resmed's harsh actions.

This website is sponsored by internet sellers. Much appreciated! They have done more for cpap users than any brick and mortar imho.

I am very curious about something.

Snark1 said this
quote:
This will NOT impact the bottom line of Resmed or their stockholders (except MAYBE through lost sales if we are lucky) but is simply being used to drive out a major competitive distribution channel.
end quote

Do you believe this? Do you think that a bunch of company personel got together and are actively trying to drive a group of people out of business just because they don't like them?

[quote="Anonymous"]I am very curious about something.

Snark1 said this
quote:
This will NOT impact the bottom line of Resmed or their stockholders (except MAYBE through lost sales if we are lucky) but is simply being used to drive out a major competitive distribution channel.
end quote

Do you believe this? Do you think that a bunch of company personel got together and are actively trying to drive a group of people out of business just because they don't like them?

I am by no means an expert in this area of the law, but I do not believe what Resmaed is doing constitutes illegal price fixing. Many companies set a minimum retail price below which their products are not allowed to be sold. I know for a fact Rolex watches has been doing this for many many years.

It may be an unwise business decision on the part of Resmed, as many potential Resmed customers will likely opt to purchase a different but of equal quality brand that is less costly. But I do not believe they are violating any law.

[I am in no way advocating Resmed's decision. This is a medical product and not comparable to a "designer" consumer product like a watch or handbag.]

You may want to factor in their restriction on sales outside of the country (or countries). Another "brain fart" on their part.

Den

Price fixing, price increasing - you say potato, I say po-tatt-o (phonetic, please)...the bottom line is, rape is illegal no matter how you look at it; and this is what Resmed is trying to do to the end users, us.

I feel so much better that "Guest" has pointed out that legally, in his/her eyes, it's not "price fixing." Don't you???

It is true people are rarely prosecuted for price fixing. That does not change the fact that it's not right, and just possibly even illegal, to accuse someone of a serious crime when you have no evidence whatsoever to support the claim.

I don't see how ResMed would think this is driving out a competitive business channel, by which I assume you mean internet sales. Raising thier prices will not force CPAP.com or anyone else out of business. It just means they won't sell as many ResMed machines. If you look at CPAP.com's sales charts, which they provide on their website, it looks like ResMed stuff was declining in sales anyway. I think the only entity that could be hurt by all this will be ResMed. I don't see the problem here. If my DME wants to provide me with ResMed, that's fine. If I have to pay out of pocket, I will buy another brand. No biggie.

In the mandolin world, we just had the same thing happen with Gibson mandolins. They raised all thier prices and pulled dealerships from almost all thier online and retail dealers. People bitched and moaned on the message boards. But it really didn't effect anything in the market, unless you were someone who just had to have that brand. Now I know what you're thinking, "He's talking about musical instruments and we are talking about something people need to live." Trust me, I need my mandolin to live and so do a lot of other players. If I had to give up my mandolin or my CPAP, I would take my chances with untreated OSA!

Anonymous wrote:Do you think that a bunch of company personel got together and are actively trying to drive a group of people out of business just because they don't like them?

It has nothing to do with "like". It's all about money (as usual). More likely Resmed is hoping to increase their market share over the main competition, Respironics. To do that they appeal to their traditional distribution network (the so-called full-service retailers) by offering to deal with their declining sales by tackling the online distribution network with selective price increases and the like. In return they are asking the walk-in retailers to represent themselves as "Resmed-Friendly". How many times have we heard that lately? It is a shrewd gamble, they correctly assess that online sales just now are miniscule compared with the overall market. If they can cause that to shrink in any way it will serve their purpose, and the ma-and-pa walk-in retailers will owe them a debt of gratitude. And that will increase their market share over the competition. If the gambit fails, internet sales will bloom, and maybe even insurance providers will take a second look at lowering their costs by acknowledging the legitimacy of online vendors. That is the key.

I'm sure Resmed is doing an equal lobbying effort on the third-party payors to NOT allow discounted online reimbursement. We should be deluging the insurance companies with reminders that even THEY are forking out too much for what little is received in return. It would take so little to match or even exceed the level of service provided by the so-called "full-service" vendors. A hotline. A shared network of field reps. I doubt even the insurance companies are truly aware of how appalling the actual level of service is from most (but certainly not all) of the "adobe" retailers. Third-party payors have created this market distortion in the first place. Only if they see it as in their own best interest will they be party to fixing the problem. Until then, I say we should be screaming at the insurance companies, not at Resmed who are correctly working for their shareholders, nor at the high-price low-service retailers who are in it for themselves. On the other hand, the insurance providers SHOULD be working on behalf of their customers. That would be US.

-Ric

Again, you're all missing the point!
The only thing online retailers provide is a product and a chat board. They mail stuff to your house. Period. That's it. What else do they provide the manufacturer? Nothing. A DME has a history with a manufacturer, a physical location in a specific geographical region. This ISN'T about whether a DME is competent, etc., as you all keep pointing out.

Please stop complaining about your DMES!!! That's not the point.

Again,,, what is the difference between an online cpap retailer and the manufacturer just selling DIRECT???? Nobody answered that yet...

Anonymous wrote:Again,,, what is the difference between an online cpap retailer and the manufacturer just selling DIRECT???? Nobody answered that yet...

I guess we all assumed the answer was pretty obvious. Price. I would expect a putative "Resmed Online Store" would sell at MSRP. Do you have a different answer?

-Ric

(and quit yelling, you'll wake the neighbors)

Price fixing, price increasing - you say potato, I say po-tatt-o (phonetic, please)...the bottom line is, rape is illegal no matter how you look at it; and this is what Resmed is trying to do to the end users, us.

I feel so much better that "Guest" has pointed out that legally, in his/her eyes, it's not "price fixing." Don't you???

Now it's RAPE? And you called me "bitter?" Wow...