That's close but not quite true. It is true that there are anywhere from 2 to 4 different price levels that a dealer can generally work their way into based on the amount they purchase from a particular manufacturer, but in almost every single case, the MAP price and/or the MSRP price never changes no matter what. And in 100% of the case, this price is NEVER lower than any of the dealer cost prices at any level. And any dealer who says this, just simply isn't telling you the truth.
I come from the manufacturer end of the business before here. The pricing is structured to give the most fair playing field possible to ALL dealers. They can choose to or not to get the pricing structure they want. And granted some store might not do enough business in a particular brand, but where do they stand with their "favorite" brand?
Let's see if I understand you correctly. If a regulator has a MSRP of $500. For a shop who sells 1 or 2 a year they might pay $450 for the regulator (let's call this dealer1 pricing). A larger shop might buy the regulator for $425 (dealer2 pricing). A bigger shop might buy it for $400 (dealer3 pricing). Really big shops might buy it for $375 (dealer4 pricing). What you are saying is that no one can sell it below $450.
I've heard that some manufacturers do this. Scubapro is one of them. I was under the impression that not all manufacturers do this however. If the manufacturer does not restrict the shop's pricing, the really big shop can sell the regulator for $400. They still make a profit but all the other stores cannot beat the price.
Are you saying that ALL manufacturers restrict shops so that they must sell equipment above dealer1 pricing?