[tjsix]

"How is preventing your competitors from undercutting your price not anti-competitive? It's preventing the one thing that causes competition to lower prices."

Because Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies are one of the most common practices used by the large majority of consumer goods manufacturers and brands, especially in the electronics or higher end goods space.

Every retailer who is an authorized seller of a brand that employs a MAP policy has agreed to advertise/list/publish the product at a price no lower than MAP, or risk losing their reseller status. Note that I did not say they can't sell for a lower price, just that they cannot show a lower price to the general public to elicit a sale.

MAP is not just beneficial for the brand though, who's products remain priced accordingly to limits the brand has set; it's beneficial to the retailer who can count on a minimum set margin and not have to worry about being undercut by another retailer. It also benefits the end consumer by ensuring the retailer and brand retain enough margin on the sale to facilitate after-sale support and service as well provide the means to stay in business along with the benefit of helping to protect resale values (for applicable products). MAP policies themselves are fully legal under current anti-trust laws (in the US).