July 18, 2013
If you’re even a little bit plugged into the airsoft industry then you’ve probably noticed the terms ‘MAP policy’ floating around recently. If you’re not familiar with the acronym, it stands for Minimum Advertised Price. Contrary to popular belief, MAP policy is a good thing. Many airsofters believe that retailers started enforcing MAP policy so that they can rip off the consumer to make more money, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. MAP policy is put into place, and enforced by, the manufacturer and/or distributor of product to protect its value. It is very important to protect the value of each product because it ensures growth for the industry; growth for the manufacturers, growth for the retailers, and growth for the airsoft players. It may not be readily apparent how the airsoft player benefits from MAP pricing, most can easily see how the other parties benefit, so let’s look at the brand new A&K PKM as an example.
