MAP Policy

 

Minimum Advertised Pricing Policy (MAP)

Effective January 30, 2020

 

Round 2 LLC (herein referred to as R2) has had a minimum advertised price (MAP) policy in place since 2010.  With increasing sales in the e-commerce marketplace (Amazon, Ebay, Target.com, Walmart.com, etc.), we will be monitoring the policy more closely than in the past.  The policy detailed below will replace our previous one and will be in effect immediately.  This policy is applicable to all R2 dealers, distributors, sales representatives and other authorized sellers in the United States, Mexico, Canada and internationally.  This MAP policy is intended to protect R2 products and brands as a premium offering, preserve the opportunity of competitive seller margins and avoid channel conflict between Authorized Partners.

The MAP policy shall work under the following guidelines:

1. The minimum Advertised Price for any MAP Product is as published on official R2 price lists. MAP pricing is established by R2 and may be adjusted by R2 at its sole discretion.
2. The MAP Policy applies to all advertisements of MAP Products in any and all media, including, but not limited to e-commerce, web stores (Amazon, Ebay, Target.com, Walmart.com, etc.), flyers, coupons, mailers, inserts, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, mail order catalogs as well as Internet sites, social media sites, apps, or any other electronic media. The internet is considered as any other medium for advertising and the same rules and violations that apply to print apply to sellers who use electronic medium for advertising, and/or price offering or order placement. To remain in compliance with the MAP guidelines all advertised prices should be at or above MAP listed price prior to placement in the shipping cart or member price.
3. Shipping costs are EXCLUDED from calculating the advertised price. Free or reduced shipping is not a discount off the Advertised price.
4. Website features such as “click for price”, automated “bounce-back” pricing e-mails, pre-formatted e-mails responses, forms, and automatic price display for any items prior to being placed in a customer’s shopping cart, and other similar features are considered to be communications initiated by the dealer (rather than by the customer) and thereby constitute “advertising” under the MAP policy.
5. The MAP policy does not apply to any in-store advertising that is displayed only in a physical brick-and-mortar location and not distributed to any customer(s) outside of the brick-and-mortar location.
6. The inclusion of advertising of free or discounted products (whether made by R2 or another manufacturer) with a MAP Product would be contrary to the policy if it has the effect of discounting the advertised price of the MAP Product below the MAP.
7. If pricing is displayed in other than a brick-and-mortar retail store, any strike-through or other alteration of the Minimum Advertised Price is prohibited. R2 prohibits the use of indirectly advertising a price lower than the MAP price through tactics like “click to see pricing” or “call for pricing” on webpages or in advertisements.
8. MAP applies only to advertised prices and does not apply to the price at which the products are actually sold or offered for sale to an individual consumer within the dealer’s retail location or over the telephone.
9. MAP does not establish maximum advertised prices. Authorized Partners may offer MAP Products at any price in excess of the MAP.
10. It shall not be a violation of this MAP Policy to advertise in general that the seller has “the lowest prices” or will meet or beat any competitor’s price or to use similar phrases so long as the Authorized Partner does not include any advertised price below MAP and otherwise complies with this MAP policy.
11. Authorized Partners agree to hold all trademarks and copyrights of R2 as the property of R2 and use advertising materials provided by R2 in an authorized manner only.
12. Advertising through any third-party auction site such as eBay with a starting bid price or “Buy it Now” options less than MAP is strictly prohibited. Best offer auctions are not allowed without a reserve equal to MAP or greater.
13. From time to time, R2 may permit Authorized Partners to advertise products at prices lower than the MAP retail price. In such events, R2 reserves the right to modify or suspend the MAP retail price with respect to the affected products for a specified period of time by providing advance notice to all Authorized Partners of such changes.
14. Authorized Partners will supply a copy of the R2 MAP Policy to any new or existing seller (“Seller”). Authorized Partners are obligated to monitor compliance with this MAP Policy by each Seller and are expected to act on and request immediate corrective action of any known violation of the MAP Policy by a Seller.
15. R2 is solely responsible for determining whether an Authorized Partner has not complied with this MAP policy and for imposing consequences. Consequences include, but are not limited to: (a) suspending shipments of the product that is advertised at a price below MAP, (b) suspending shipment of a broader category of products, (c) suspending all R2 products, (d) terminating R2 relationship with the Authorized Partner, (e) altering the terms of participation in any current or future preferred pricing, promotional, joint marketing or sponsorship programs, and (f) contacting Amazon, Target.com, Walmart.com, etc. and suspending their listing. Although it is not the responsibility of Authorized Sellers to police R2’s MAP policy, if violators are discovered, please forward that information to our Policy Administrator ([email protected]).
16. For Limited Edition products, the MAP policy will apply for 6 months from the date of release.  This information will be included on the price lists for the relevant product lines.  For stock items, the MAP policy will apply until the item is sold out and discontinued.  Discontinued items are highlighted on our price lists in blue for one month, and then removed.  When any item is removed from our price list, MAP no longer needs to be followed.
17. Please refer to the R2 price lists for current MAP pricing. The price lists will also include information on when the MAP Policy expires, where applicable.  If an item is no longer on our price lists, then the MAP policy no longer applies to that item.
18. If you are selling items as bundles or sets, the MAP price will be the total of all the individual MAP prices combined.

Terms on our Price Lists:

Expired – MAP no longer applies

N/A – MAP does not expire on this item, until it is sold out and discontinued (removed from price list)

Expiration date – this is the date that the MAP price expires.  If no date is listed, then the MAP applies until the item is sold out and discontinued.

R2 is not seeking agreement from any Authorized Partner to adhere to this MAP Policy, and no representative of R2 is authorized to solicit or accept any such agreement. It is entirely within the discretion of each Authorized Partner whether to comply or not comply.  R2 customer service and sales personnel have no authority to modify or grant exceptions to this Policy or to provide interpretations of this Policy.  R2 is not bound by any exception or interpretation that an Authorized Partner believes it has received.

All questions or comments regarding this MAP Policy are to be directed to the policy administrator at [email protected]. The policy administrator shall be solely responsible for determining whether a violation of the policy has occurred, communicating decisions to sellers regarding the policy and receiving any communication regarding sanctions imposed under this policy.