Re: It is sure to effect consumer prices
I don't see this at all. It assumes that Best Buy, Circuit City and Walmart will simply roll over and accept this as an additional term to their agreements. Not likely at all.
It will take some time, yes. And companies like Walmart that are not dependent on any one product will be in a position to fight longer, and may end up deciding it isn't worth it. But companies like Best Buy and Circuit City that are dependent on CD and DVD sales will have little choice in the end.
The producers will start with the small fry, lock them in and then work their way up the chain. And the terms themselves will probably slowly get harder over time. At first they will just set a price floor at 75% of the MSRP, and give them allowances for sales and such. But over time they will limit those options until the price floor and the MSRP are the same and companies have to get the manufactures permission to discount the price at all.
Eventually they will have enough of the market locked up they can tell the rest to sign up or stop selling.
Jay
