EcoTech marine, the purveyor of premium high quality pumps and lighting equipment for both freshwater and saltwater tanks recently dropped the price of one of their most popular pumps by one hundred dollars. Suffice to say the price drop has several folks speculating on the reasons why exactly the price drop when into affect.
Like other major global brand manufactures, Ecotech Marine has a minimum advertised price (MAP) policy for retailers of their products. MAP policy stipulates retailers can only advertise their products as certain prices and if a retailer does advertise at a lower price point it violates the policy and puts the retailer at risk of losing Ecotech Marine as a business partner. And nobody wants to do that.
So why suddenly did Ecotech drop their price on a MP40 pump by one hundred bucks? Chatter on the forums is pointing to increased competition from the Maxspect Gyre pump. Comparing these two brands would be unfair to both companies as they have much different brand value and positioning statements. Is the Maxpect Gyre pump really causing much more competition? No. Rather their revenue is from other major brands that might have lower price points in the low to mid tier of the hobbyist market.
It is also important to remember that these decisions are thought through carefully almost to an Apple way of doing things. You just do not see discounts on Apple products. You really do not see discounts on Ecotech Marine products and if you do you’re likely to see out of stock status from major retailers. Rather we think Ecotech Marine has a major new product (or service) they are very close to releasing something that will most definitely replace the MP40 pump—for those of you keeping track. The MP40 was the original pump that Ecotech launched roughly 10 years ago and upended the pump market for aquariums.
Could they do that again?
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