monopolizing?

[faithnlve]

What is the name of your state? Vt.....What exactly is monopolizing? I am starting a new business. Our competitors are not happy we are opening and have begun a campaign against us with our supplier that if she sold certain products to us they would buy elsewhere. Plus they want a contract with the supplier for her to sell exclusively certain items to them and not to us. The problem is our supplier is an aunt to one of our big competitors and she feels stuck. We need some of these products and the next closest supplier is two states away. Any advice? thanks

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state? Vt.....What exactly is monopolizing? I am starting a new business. Our competitors are not happy we are opening and have begun a campaign against us with our supplier that if she sold certain products to us they would buy elsewhere. Plus they want a contract with the supplier for her to sell exclusively certain items to them and not to us. The problem is our supplier is an aunt to one of our big competitors and she feels stuck. We need some of these products and the next closest supplier is two states away. Any advice? thanks

If there are other suppliers you can get your goods from, then it will be virtually impossible to prove and antitrust violation (monopoly). Generally, people are free to sell to and buy from whomever they want, and it is not unusual or illegal for buyers and sellers to arrange exclusive relationships. For example, it's not an antitrust violation for Coke to refuse to sell to a restaurant that sells Pepsi -- they can have these exclusive arrangements.

Your competitor does not have to buy from this supplier, and can refuse to buy from this supplier unless they have an exclusive agreement. The supplier is free to either enter into and exclusive agreement, or not sell to this supplier. Nor do you have a "right" to purchase from this supplier.

Illegal monopolies are usually only found where one company controls, or effectively controls, supply or a particular good or service, and can then charge "monopoly rents" (i.e., higher prices) than would normally exist in a free market. In your case, it sounds as if you can still get the goods, just not from your "preferred" supplier, and your "preferred" supplier is in a position of either selling to a big client, or selling to you. These are all just facts of life in business, and none of these things appear (from what you have written) to implicate an illegal monopoly situation. It's just business.

 

[xylene]

What is the name of your state? Vt.....What exactly is monopolizing? I am starting a new business. Our competitors are not happy we are opening and have begun a campaign against us with our supplier that if she sold certain products to us they would buy elsewhere. Plus they want a contract with the supplier for her to sell exclusively certain items to them and not to us. The problem is our supplier is an aunt to one of our big competitors and she feels stuck. We need some of these products and the next closest supplier is two states away. Any advice? thanks

In the circumstances you describe, the supplier who your competitors are upset about you buying from would be stupid to agree in a contract to not sell to anyone.

That's just not economically rational.

Your competitors are asking the supplier to take a financial hit, to benefit only the competitors.

Only a very naive or unskilled and inept businessperson would not see this.

Tell the supplier, "if our competitiors try to tell the supplier they will boycott the supplier or some nonsense, thats just bluster. They are saying they'd voluntarily go out of business, and you know thats a lie." "Why would you Mrs Supplier turn away business."

Basically what the competitors are doing are trying to coerce someone into doing something by threatening to shoot themselves.

It only works once.

Sorry that family politics are involved.

I didn't realize sugaring was so cut-throat.