It helps when you talk with your wholesale suppliers, to talk in their own language. Online sellers should know the common terms that REAL Wholesalers use. This absolutely helps in building good business relationships with them. Wholesalers have their own industry terms and jargon. As a retailer, it’s good for you to be able to talk with them in their own language. This avoids misunderstandings. Also, you won’t have to stop them and ask that they explain what they mean. They’ll treat you more seriously if they sense that you understand their business.
In this next set of tips, we will explore a few of the most common terms you’ll encounter when talking to your wholesalers. While many online retailers have heard these terms, most don’t really know what they mean or even how they influence their selling.
MAP – “Manufacturer’s Advertised Price”
Let’s begin with: “MAP” or “Manufacturer’s Advertised Price”. When a wholesaler requires you use MAP pricing, they are instructing you NOT to sell their products on eBay (or anywhere else!) for LESS than the MAP price.
There’s a very good reason why Suppliers enforce the MAP. The MAP sets the market’s perception of the value of their products in the marketplace. Price cutting on eBay or other selling platforms by online sellers trying to out-do each other, devalues consumers’ perception of the product and brand. When this happens, the large brick-and-mortar stores, with overhead costs higher than eBay sellers, stop selling the product because they cannot afford to sell it for those prices and still make a profit margin.
The wholesaler’s biggest volumes come from those large brick-and-mortar stores. If they stop carrying the wholesaler’s products, the wholesaler’s sales volumes slump and they can no longer justify selling the product. The small online sellers eventually loose out because they can no longer source the products. They have in fact, shot themselves in the foot.
The MAP is a protective measure to retain the product’s market value. This protects everyone in the product supply chain.
