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From: ark@rabbit.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: Mail order discounters - fact or fiction?
Message-ID: <1519@rabbit.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 25-May-83 22:10:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: rabbit.1519
Posted: Wed May 25 22:10:24 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 26-May-83 00:17:04 EDT
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Relay-Version:version B 2.10 5/3/83; site alice.UUCP
Posting-Version:version B 2.10 5/3/83; site rabbit.UUCP
Message-ID:<1519@rabbit.UUCP>
Date:Wed, 25-May-83 22:10:24 EDT
Organization:Bell Labs, Murray Hill

A few useful things to know:

	1.  If you order something using a credit card
	and it doesn't come and they charge your credit
	card anyway, you don't have to pay the bill.
	I'm pretty sure there's a Federal law about that.

	2.  Though some of them try pretty hard, I think
	it is illegal for a manufacturer to control the
	price at which his products are sold.
	The only thing they can possibly do is lift a
	franchise.  In other words, they can refuse to
	sell to a particular retailer.  But if that retailer
	thinks that the manufacturer has lifted the franchise
	in an effort to fix retail prices, he can sue the
	manufacturer.  There was a big suit of this nature
	between Cuisinart and Zabar's (a large deli in New York)
	a number of years ago.  Zabar's started discounting
	Cuisinarts and advertising the fact.  Cuisinart stopped
	selling to Zabar's.  Zabar's sued and won.  They are
	now selling Cuisinarts at a discount again.

	3.  I think it is illegal for a merchant to charge your
	credit card until they ship the merchandise.  Of course,
	it's pretty hard to detect.