Hogue, Inc. announced a new Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy. The policy states that any reseller advertising a Hogue product below a company-set price will lose access to the company’s product line. Many shooters know Hogue for its lines of handgun grips, but they also make stocks, bags, knives, holsters and more.

Many manufacturers across all industries have MAP policies. One side of the argument is that the consumer is hurt because gun shops and accessory sellers can’t aggressively compete by offering low prices.

However, I have seen the other side of the argument as well. A local gun shop I frequent offers great service and very fair pricing. However, a new “big box” retailer moved into the area and is offering many of the same guns, but at prices below the wholesale price. Even factoring in quantity discounts the big box store gets, it appears they are taking a loss but gaining market share. The possible effect of this is the small shop goes out of business, and the big box store then inflates prices up due to a lack of competition.

What are your thoughts? Do MAP policies hurt or help in the gun industry?