Re: BMW Canada's economics lesson

[Tom Newton <thnewton@xxxxxxxxx>]

>>>BMW Canada:> "Some Canadians have found ways around the pricing
situation by buying
>>> directly from the USA, and all that does is drive the price up here
>>> even higher..."<<<
 
>>Me:> HA!!! I'll tell you what, Boris Yeltsin aught to hire the guy
that
>> wrote that! I'm afraid the basic laws of supply and demand dictate
>> that if people buy more and more products somewhere else, demand for
>> your products will decrease. And the primary way to rebuild demand
for
>> your products -- AND STAY IN BUSINESS -- is to lower prices - not
>> raise them! If the free market system operated the way BMW Canada
>> thinks it should, we'd all be driving Trabants by now! > 

> John:< I beg to differ.  I think we would be driving BMW's. The
reasoning you
make fun of is not uncommon in Europe. It is the natural instinct of a
protected franchise operating next to a more competitive market. I am
curious what sort of mark up BMW Canada is asking...<

Fair enough John, we BMW fanatics probably wouldn't be driving
Trabants or even Pintos by now :).  And yes, a "protected franchise"
may perhaps take that view. But in today's changing commercial
landscape the very concept of "protected franchises" is fading fast -
especially in light of things like the EU, NAFTA, & The Internet. 

The bottom line is consumers, as always, tend to shop around for the
best deals. And to the extent that "shopping around" for BMW parts and
accessories becomes more of a global or cross border excercise,
retailers will need to respond in a "new" way, and become more
competitive, not less so.

Tom
==
                                                _ _ __  ___  ___
97 M3, estoril/mulberry, 2dr, 5spd, lux, H-K   / / / / /   |/   |
VDO Gauges, RD strut brace, Clear lenses      / / / / /    /    |
Also a non-lux front grill & spoiler         /_/_/_/ /__/|__/|__|

_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @domain.elided address at http://mail.yahoo.com

------------------------------