Ban on sale of original MB part to unauthorized dealers

[Ulf]

This was sent by DB-Depot, where I buy some of my spare parts:

"Mid-November, Daimler AG imposed an immediate ban of sales for original parts to non-authorized dealers, under thread of penalty in case of violation on the part of the official Mercedes dealers to the point of withdrawal of the official dealer authorization.
In our case this meant the compulsory and abrupt ending of a trustful business relationship with the local Mercedes dealer  that had lasted for nearly two decades.
In view of the sharpness and haste with which this sanction  was et into the world, gives an idea of  the pressure under which the Daimler AG is acting here. Unfortunate and questionable it is however, that no official information is given to enlighten the background – thus lets us only assume, that it might all have to do with the continuous issues betwenn the Daimler AG and the US stoch exchange supervision SEC.

Having said all this, you might finally want to know, how all this might affect you?
Well, actually there won’t be serious changes to our product range: we will still be able to offer OEM quality products such as rubber seals, engine-, axle- and suspension parts at very competitive prices. The one thing that will change, is that there will temporarily be no more comlementary smaller bits like clips, screws or other parts, that are exclusively supplied by Mercedes.
We will use the now free capacity to expand our product range to other Mercedes models and components not yet listed – so keep expecting the most of us."

Wonder how this will affect other suppliers :-(

[badali]

I think they are preventing companies from buying parts and marking them up for profit.  For example the trunk mat is about $118 from the classic center.  Other well known suppliers have been selling them for about $150.  There are probably rare parts being bought up taking the last of the suplies then marked way up as they become no longer available from MB.

[Ulf]

Hope you're right - messages like that scares the living daylights out of me...

[mdsalemi]

I do not know how or if this could be done without significant impact in the USA.  There are significant numbers of independents that buy a lot of part, and an extensive dealer network that sells them.  That's a lot of parts infrastructure--including local delivery trucks, revenue and profit--that would be dismissed.  I'd be interested to hear about any USA version of this.  In proper English.

[66andBlue]

Michael,
what Ulf posted is the company's translation of the German text posted here: http://www.dbdepot.de/index.php?nav=1&lan=1
There is currently a discussion going on the German Pagodentreff.de web site where a Belgian member believes that it has to do with a new EC law that are supposed to open up competition (see http://eur-lex.europa.eu/Notice.do?val=262491:cs&lang=en&list=262491:cs,262487:cs,201150:cs,114690:cs,71708:cs,27020:cs,426:cs,108:cs,&pos=1&page=1&nbl=8&pgs=10&hwords=article%2081~&checktexte=checkbox&visu=#texte) .
However, as always there are loopholes and one of them concerns the trade in automobile spare parts by groups such as the authorized Daimpler dealers. The writer believes that Daimler's attorneys are rushing to limit any possibility that the trade in MB parts by non-authorized dealers could be opened up completely. Whether or not this will circumvent US anti-trust laws remains an open question.

[Ulf]

What do you mean by proper English?

[mdsalemi]

What precisely this means, specifically for the USA is not at all clear--translation aside.  All manufacturers have a healthy parts business and a complex distribution network in the USA.  Does "authorized dealers" mean that a dealer will only sell to an end user, and not any intermediary like a body shop?  Where do places like an oil change get their filters now?  Once I buy a part, the factory no longer has any say over its end use or resale. Vast and strict decrees should be made with some forethought as to end consequences.

Apple Computer has attempted monopoly, and been somewhat successful.  But, you can clone a Mac as sure as you can build a PC--they got away from proprietary hardware some time ago.  Chinese intermediaries, incensed that they can't buy the Iphone4 in China, were buying them by the score here in the USA and shipping them back to China for use there.  When Applie limited the sale of iPhones, they employed legions of Chinese immigrants to wait on line each morning at Apple store in major cities in the USA to buy their daily quota.  For some it was a daily job.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/technology/23iphone.html  The importance of that story is the situation that engendered it, and the result.

Attempts at monopoly usually fail; sometimes earlier, sometimes later, but nearly always.  If there is an attempt at selling parts only through "authorized dealers" to only end users, the vast network of intermediaries who consume parts in their trade will react.  More 3rd party parts will be the result is my guess.

As for English, Ulf--the translation sounded like it was made by someone or something not well versed in the language.  Like a computer.   

[dseretakis]

There might be more to this than meets the eye.  It seems as if MB is cutting costs.  The imposition of such regulations appears to just be a profit maximization maneuver.  MBUSA modified it roadside assistance program, as you probably already know, to the detriment of many drivers of older out of warranty MBs.  I find it suspicious that these events coincide with one another.

[Ulf]

I agree - although not computer-generated, the translation is a little too open for interpretation, but the German text is not much more informative ( or perhaps I should have paid more attention in school...).
Still have no idea whether this is an EC-thing and thus only applies to us bureaucracy-burdened Europeans or to the US market as well.
As the last lines indicate, it shouldn't cause too many problems, but I would claim the same thing if I was a dealer...so let's see how it turns out.
Personally, the difference between buying directly from MB and from dealers such as SLS, Niemöller or DB-Depot is their webshops, not the price - it's always nice to be able to browse and have items delivered directly. As far as I'm aware the Classic Centre does not have that option - or am I wrong?

Ulf

[scoot]

My understanding of this comes from a few months ago when I think the Classic Center stated that it would not be selling parts to resellers.   I thought that part of this change came from people buying parts on the classic center to sell on ebay, and people buying parts from MB to re-sell as a business.  I think that Mercedes wants to be in the business of selling Mercedes parts to consumers and that resellers are not their target market since it adds a middle man to each transaction.   Good for the middle man, not good for MB, good and bad for the consumer.

It would make no sense for MB to not sell parts to a body shop.

Similarly, it would make no sense for MB to stop selling me fuel sender gaskets.   When I rebuild and resell fuel senders, I include a new gasket (so I'm not really selling the gasket).  When I try to order 6 more of them, will I be told no?  I kind of doubt it but we will see...   Similarly, if I need a single part to complete a cargo cover that I want to sell "complete", will I be told "no"?  I don't think so.

I think that the target of this policy is   a) individuals marking up and reselling one ebay,  and more significantly, b) companies that have significant business buying and reselling MB parts.   Will a company like Miller's be heavily impacted by this?  I would guess so, but I'm not sure.  Also, I don't think it stops resellers from paying MSRP for whatever they want - I think what it means is that there isn't a discount to other businesses that resell parts as their primary function.