What's a fair price to charge for tuning a piano

[Dean May]

>>NO. They can't. Why do you keep spreading this BS???????
>>Avery Todd

Because we are waist deep in it and I am trying to clear a path. 

Did you notice that Martha Stewart went to jail? It was not for insider
trading- which itself is arguably a non-crime. It was not for anything
related to insider trading. She was acquitted of all those charges. But you
see, when federal prosecutors come after you they will get a conviction.
Their political careers depend on their conviction rates and they have the
full resources of the Justice Department- money is no object to them
especially on a high profile case. Martha Stewart was convicted for being
misleading to the investigators that were trying to crucify her. She was not
being deposed nor was she under oath at the time. Neither was she convicted
of anything that she was misleading to them about. They were trying to
crucify her for charges she was acquitted of and she was being
uncooperative. For this she is now a federal felon. 

Now read through the list again of what is forbidden. I submit to you that
it would be pretty easy for a zealous federal prosecutor to bring charges
against us for any number of things listed here. 

k) Current or future prices

People post their current and future prices here all the time

l) What constitutes a fair profit or margin level

We are always encouraging people to not charge less than what they are
worth.

m) Possible increases or decreases in prices
o) Pricing procedures
p)Cash discounts
q) Credit discounts
r) Control of sales
s) Allocation of markets
t) Refusal to deal with a firm because of its pricing or distribution
practices 

We do this kind of stuff all the time. Be careful, you may follow in
Martha's steps.

u) Whether or not the pricing practices of any industry member are unethical
or constitute an unfair trade practice

Did you miss the exchange I had with Susan a few months ago? And that was
not isolated. The unethical charge related to pricing frequently comes up on
this list. And it should. 


I could bring up just about anything on the list and go through the archives
and find an example of how we have violated it. But it is this law that is
immoral, not our technical violation of it. For the Federales to criminalize
our discussions on this list is over the top, it is tyranny. 



Dean
Dean May             cell 812.239.3359
PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272
Terre Haute IN  47802

>
>I don't know if it applies to this list (but it is run by the PTG), but we
>should all be aware of the anti-trust guidelines that we must follow:
>
>http://www.ptg.org/members/resources-antiTrustGuidelines.php  (members area
>only)
>
>There must be no discussions at association meetings that may in any way
>tend to: a) Raise, lower, or stabilize prices or fees, b) Regulate
>production levels or schedules, c) Affect the availability of products or
>services, d) Affect allocation of markets, territories, customers, or
>patients, e) Encourage boycotts or exclusions of products or services, f)
>Foster unfair practices involving advertising, merchandising,
>standardization, certification or accreditation, g) Encourage anyone to
>refrain from competing, h) Limit or exclude anyone from manufacture, sale,
>or practice, i) Result in illegal brokerage or rebates, j) Affect improper
>reciprocity in dealing, k) Current or future prices, l) What constitutes a
>fair profit or margin level, m) Possible increases or decreases in prices,
>n) Standardization or stabilization of prices, o) Pricing procedures, p)
>Cash discounts, q) Credit discounts, r) Control of sales, s) Allocation of
>markets, t) Refusal to deal with a firm because of its pricing or
>distribution practices, u) Whether or not the pricing practices of any
>industry member are unethical or constitute an unfair trade practice, v)
>Terms or conditions of sale, w) Market share, x) Customer or supplier
>classification, allocation or selection, y) Decisions to quote or not to
>quote, z) Sales territories.
>
>--Cy--
>
>
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>
>_______________________________________________
>Pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives