Whistler Institutes MAP Policy

The Whistler Group has introduced a new MAP Policy (Minimum Advertised Pricing Policy) on a number of their electronic devices, including radar detectors.

Mike Batton, an engineer with Whistler related to me Friday that they began their MAP Program one month ago and contacted all their distributors who in turn were responsible to contact their retailers.

Mike said that they have now started the second step of their enforcement program, by contacting internet retailers advising them of the program and asking for their compliance.

Retailers who comply with Whistler’s MAP program will be afforded “Authorized Dealer Status” for their products, allowing them to offer Whistler’s full warranty which in some instances is the longest in the industry, three years.

Those retailers who fail to comply will be “black listed” on Whistler’s website and they will NOT HONOR any warranty or service issues to those companies’ customers.

Whistler’s joins many other manufactures such as Tom Tom, Escort Inc., Alpine and Beltronics who have instituted such MAP programs over the past several years to protect their retail chain from unscrupulous merchants.

I also look for other manufactures to follow suit especially in the electronics industry, since the US Supreme Court has upheld MAP policies in a June 2007 decision.