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Ford dealers can ban F-150 Lightning customers from reselling trucks to discourage scalpers:
Ford is cracking down on anyone with mercenary intentions when it comes to buying an F-150 Lightning next year. In an effort to stop customers from quickly flipping their electric pickup truck for a hefty profit, Ford delivered a notice to dealerships issuing a new clause for soon-to-be owners. The note was posted on the F-150 Gen 14 forum on Friday. Should a dealer opt in, customers will be required to sign a "No-Sale" provision, banning them from reselling the truck within one year of ownership. The key here is, it's not required, Ford told Roadshow.
"Such a requirement is between a dealer and their customer," a spokesperson said. "It is up to the dealer to decide to use it and to consult with local laws in the state they operate should they choose to do so."
The clause reads, "Purchaser hereby agrees that it will not sell, offer to sell or otherwise transfer ownership interest in the Vehicle prior to the first anniversary of the date hereof. Purchaser further agrees that Seller may seek injunctive relief to prevent the transfer of title of the Vehicle or demand payment from Purchaser of all value received as consideration for the sale or transfer."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Rich on Monday January 10 2022, @08:42PM (4 children)
Price them, so supply just barely exceeds demand. It's as easy as 1. Place Price Tag, 2. ???, 3. Profit. And there is no 2.
If they really have to save face in front of their redneck cheapskate customers, make the first year's production a "special edition". Like with "AI-enhanced seat adjustment" at , like, $24900 extra, and drop that as mandatory feature once production has ramped up.
Or is that just a test for "sales" contracts in "you own nothing" times?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 11 2022, @02:43PM
LOL. "Redneck cheapskates" don't buy Ford, they like Chevy. F150's are for suburban "contractors" with inadequacy complexes.
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:33PM (2 children)
I ultimately agree with you, however dealers in the last year have been getting in trouble for this very practice. Dealer markups beyond MSRP go on the social network and kill brand loyalty. The OEM has to step in and mandate sales at the recommended price, however depending on the state they don't always have that power. Ultimately, the OEM has no motivation for these inflated prices; the dealer absorbs the profits and the brand image is hurt.
I believe it is further compounded by the electric vehicles, because there is a move to online reservations (moving towards a Tesla like experience). The dealer is still involved, but the reservation occurs on Ford.com. I believe: I haven't gone through the process myself.
https://www.autoblog.com/2022/01/10/ford-f150-lightning-dealer-markup-response-allocations/ [autoblog.com]
(Score: 2) by Rich on Wednesday January 12 2022, @12:59AM (1 child)
Why that? The OEMs goal is shareholder value. If they have an opportunity to sell out a year's production at inflated prices without any advertising, they are obliged to do so, and better have a darn good excuse to their shareholders if they don't. As I mentioned, marketing might require special measures for setting prices. But to my understanding, if they set a first super high price (and clearly communicate that it's, like, um..., totally limited, and, like, er... only for connoisseurs) they would get away without bad blood and when they later introduce the loss-leading-priced entry model and the bulk profit mainstream model, they can go higher with the latter, because the perceived price point has been set.
Or if they really want to give out prizes in the webshop lottery, they could just lease it out, maybe with a purchase option. The more I think about it, this reeks of an attempt to soften first sale doctrine in a saturated economy.
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Wednesday January 12 2022, @05:17PM
My understanding of the dealer-OEM relationship (which is full of hijinks, so I could be mistaken) is the dealership will buy inventory approximately at MSRP from the OEM. That inventory sits on the lot and the dealer then sells the car at their negotiated price. Historically the money making venues for the dealership is dealer add-ons and financing.
Since the dealer is a private business separate from the OEM the OEM does not see additional profit from a dealership markup. However, the licensing agreement puts the OEM's logo on the sign, so the dealership is an extension of the brand experience.