Unauthorized sellers & MAP
Is MAP Pricing Legal? What Brands Selling on Amazon Should Know
Minimum advertised price policies are common and generally lawful when done right. Where the legal lines are, and the mistakes that cross them.
This is general information from operators, not legal advice. Have your attorney review any pricing policy before you use it.
Short answer: in the US, a properly structured minimum advertised price (MAP) policy is a common and generally lawful practice. Plenty of well-known brands use one. Where brands get into trouble isn’t having a MAP policy. It’s how they set it up and enforce it.
MAP vs. resale price maintenance
These are different things, and the difference matters.
- MAP controls the lowest price a reseller can advertise. The reseller can still sell for less, for example in the cart or at checkout.
- Resale price maintenance controls the actual price the reseller charges. That draws much more legal scrutiny.
Keeping your policy focused on advertised price is part of what keeps it on safer ground.
Why unilateral policies are the standard
Under a long-standing US principle often called the Colgate doctrine, a company can generally announce its own policy and choose not to keep selling to resellers who don’t follow it. The key word is unilateral. You decide the policy on your own, announce it, and act on it.
Federal law since the Supreme Court’s 2007 Leegin decision evaluates many minimum pricing agreements case by case rather than banning them outright. But state laws vary, and some states, such as Maryland, are stricter. That’s one more reason a unilateral MAP policy, reviewed by counsel, is the usual approach.
What tends to get brands in trouble
- Negotiating prices with individual resellers. “We’ll let it slide if you stay above $199” turns a policy into an agreement.
- Getting resellers to sign off on the price. Asking for agreement moves you away from unilateral.
- Coordinating between resellers. Letting dealers pressure each other, or brokering deals between them, is the fastest way into a problem.
- Enforcing inconsistently. It weakens your position and invites claims you treated accounts unfairly.
- Stretching a pricing dispute into an IP claim on Amazon. That’s an Amazon account risk, not just a legal one. See does Amazon enforce MAP.
What a clean setup looks like
- A written, unilateral policy announced to all resellers at once.
- Clear consequences, applied the same way to everyone.
- No negotiation over the price itself.
- Separate reseller agreements covering where and how dealers can sell, drafted by your attorney. See authorized reseller agreements for Amazon.
- Documented monitoring and enforcement.
For the parts every policy needs, see how to write an Amazon MAP policy that holds up.
Frequently asked questions
Is it illegal to sell below MAP?
Generally no. MAP limits advertising. A reseller who sells below it may lose access to your product under your policy, but that’s a business consequence.
Can I stop a reseller who ignores my MAP policy?
Under a unilateral policy, you can generally choose to stop selling to them. Confirm with your attorney.
Is MAP the same as MSRP?
No. MSRP is a suggested price. MAP is the minimum advertised price your policy sets.
Does MAP apply to sellers I never authorized?
Not directly, since they never received it. For them, the fix is closing the supply source. See how to remove unauthorized sellers.
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