Nitecore is doing nothing wrong IMO.
If a retailer enters into an agreement with distributor that includes a MAP, then clearly that retailer knows upfront what is required of them. If said retailer decides to break that agreement then I see no reason why a company like Nitecore shouldn’t pull them up on it.
If a retailer does not like a MAP, they don’t have to stock the product, simple as that.
MAP’s in general are there to protect a brand and all retailers of that brand/product from being price r**d, for certain products it would be the end of them if margins kept getting cut to the point where most retailers dropped the product due to not being competitive, bad for us also as this can lead to no competition and prices can go up…
The other advantage is if certain retailers are (very roughly in general here…) able to gaurantee at least a stable profit margin then that leads them to want to champion that brand, meaning better service for us etc etc. Also the manufacturer should be able invest more into R&D which should mean higher quality products.
I realise this varys greatly across industries and can work to the average consumers detriment (eg Canon and big retailers), but for the most part is part of running a business.
I have no affiliation with Nitecore, and the only product of theirs I’ve owned was an Intellicharger which arrived DOA lol, however I appreciate that they are trying to provide a product a step above the usual cheap crap pumped out, accepted, and lapped up by todays consumers. Sure they may not get it right all the time, but compared to some it seems they are trying to be a bit more professional?