To clarify, discounts based purely on volume, available equally to all buyers, are fine under RPA. The problem is when discounts are based not on volume or real cost savings but the power of the customer. "Suppliers are prohibited from simply rewarding size and power with lower prices, or letting larger retailers bully them into providing them discounts unavailable to their competitors." (It is also illegal for the bullies to demand those discounts). This explains more https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/statement-bedoya-joined-by-khan-slaughter-southern-glazers.pdf
Oh, we were good then. We published our volume discounts publicly and treated all customers equally. And I had purchasing people at some of the big companies call me every name in the book for not offering them a "special" discount.
One lovely individual working for the State of Ohio, when I told her that giving her a discount would be unfair to all our previous customers replied "I don't give a fuck about your other customers."
And we had 1 or 2 prospects that would not buy from us because we didn't give them a special discount. So weird because everyone knew with others they bought from, everyone was getting the same "special" discount.
To clarify, discounts based purely on volume, available equally to all buyers, are fine under RPA. The problem is when discounts are based not on volume or real cost savings but the power of the customer. "Suppliers are prohibited from simply rewarding size and power with lower prices, or letting larger retailers bully them into providing them discounts unavailable to their competitors." (It is also illegal for the bullies to demand those discounts). This explains more https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/statement-bedoya-joined-by-khan-slaughter-southern-glazers.pdf
I liked Cory Doctorow's explanation of how monopolists/monopsonists do this:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/14/the-price-is-wright/#enforcement-priorities
Oh, we were good then. We published our volume discounts publicly and treated all customers equally. And I had purchasing people at some of the big companies call me every name in the book for not offering them a "special" discount.
One lovely individual working for the State of Ohio, when I told her that giving her a discount would be unfair to all our previous customers replied "I don't give a fuck about your other customers."
And we had 1 or 2 prospects that would not buy from us because we didn't give them a special discount. So weird because everyone knew with others they bought from, everyone was getting the same "special" discount.