Astronomy Ireland charging for events

It is common practice for companies to use a local dealer network in many industries, especially in the chemical industry. You would never buy direct from say BASF, you would use their local distributor in Ireland or the UK. If your geographic dealers end up in a competitive situation (by having different prices) it will ultimately result in price cutting. This is great for the consumer but for a manufacturer, they might as well just pull the product from the market and may be forced to do so, especially in a zone with several exchange rates.

They will still sell telescopes regardless of where the customer is entitled to buy them from. The manufacturer will still get the wholesale price. They already deal with the countries in Europe with different currencies so there is no additional overhead in allowing free trade. All the current setup does is allows monopolies and cartels in individual countries, which is bad for the consumer, has little benefit for the manufacturer, and only serves to prop up the profits of the retailer.

There is a difference in having a local dealer and forcing your customer to deal only through that dealer.

All the current setup does is allows monopolies and cartels in individual countries, which is bad for the consumer, has little benefit for the manufacturer, and only serves to prop up the profits of the retailer.

I can think of NO better example than the current situation in Greece where the current situation is very bad. I am getting stabs in the back from the two reps by virtue of my advice to other local amateurs to buy from Astromart ... they bypass the rules and regulations set-up by Celestron and Meade surrounding the purchase only from the local dealer and they also get items at very good pricing (ex. half of what it would cost brand new in the US).

To use a North American expression, there is more than one way to skin a cat .... the only thing the current policy accomplishes is to turn customers away.

It is a common practice in many industries. At the end of the day, its up to the manufacturer to make sure their dealers are not overpricing-it only drives customers to their competitors.
We can always vote with our feet (assuming we are knowledgeable in the area).

It is a common practice in many industries. At the end of the day, its up to the manufacturer to make sure their dealers are not overpricing-it only drives customers to their competitors.
We can always vote with our feet (assuming we are knowledgeable in the area).

True. Though we get back to the issue you mentioned earlier about the lack of manufacturers of high end SCTs with fancy computerised mounts.

It is a common practice in many industries. At the end of the day, its up to the manufacturer to make sure their dealers are not overpricing-it only drives customers to their competitors.
We can always vote with our feet (assuming we are knowledgeable in the area).

True. Though we get back to the issue you mentioned earlier about the lack of manufacturers of high end SCTs with fancy computerised mounts.

Yes, this is a tough one. Nobody in their right mind is going to get into the mass produced SCT market unless they can do it cheaply. Just another price war followed by an acquisition by one of the two main players...