Minimum Advertised Price

This page explains Minimum Advertised Price (MAP): what MAP is, what it is not, how to put MAP in force for your brand on the Platform, what counts as a violation, and how violations are handled. This page summarizes the Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) Policy (Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) Policy), which governs.

What MAP is

A Minimum Advertised Price policy is a unilateral announcement by the brand owner. The brand states that it will not supply resellers who advertise its products below a stated price. The brand sets the price, publishes the policy, and enforces it by choosing who it does business with.

What MAP is not

MAP is not an agreement with sellers about the price they will charge. MAP must not become a negotiated arrangement: for example, an exchange of better terms for a promise to advertise at a stated price, or sellers agreeing with each other to hold a price. Conduct of that kind is assessed differently under antitrust law. The compliance facts are stated in the Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) Policy (Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) Policy), which governs. In short

• You announce MAP. You do not negotiate MAP terms with individual sellers.
• You enforce MAP through your supply relationships, by deciding whether to continue supplying a violator. You do not fine a seller, recover the amount of a discount, or coordinate with other sellers against a violator.
• MAP covers advertised price, not selling price, unless your written policy states otherwise with precision. The Platform does not decide that distinction for you beyond what your policy states.

Pricing conduct is also governed by the Brand Pricing Integrity Policy, which governs.

How to put MAP in force

Requirements: your MAP terms must be written before any enforcement, and sellers must receive them before enforcement begins. Retroactive MAP enforcement does not exist.

1. Publish the policy. State which products are covered, the MAP price for each, what counts as advertising, and the effective date.
2. Register the MAP schedule against your brand. Ask the brand team to record the schedule against your brand record so enforcement has a schedule to check against.
3. Allow a transition period. Sellers already advertising below MAP receive notice and an opportunity to correct the price before enforcement begins.

What counts as a violation

A MAP violation is an advertised price below the MAP floor, in a channel your policy covers, after the effective date, by a seller subject to the policy.

Common cases

• Strikethrough pricing. Advertising "was $50, now $40" when MAP is $45 is a violation. The advertised price is $40, whatever the earlier price says. The dollar figures in this example are illustrative only.
• Coupons and sitewide promotions. Whether a seller's coupon applied to your product violates MAP depends on your policy's terms and on who funds the coupon. Promotions funded by the Platform are the Platform's responsibility to reconcile with MAP schedules, not the seller's.
• Cart price and advertised price. If your policy defines the violation at the advertised price, a lower price shown only in the cart is not a violation. If your policy is written to cover the in-cart price, it is. The policy text controls, which is why the text must be precise.
• First-party listings. The Company's own first-party inventory, sold as "Sold by Pawz Shop," is not subject to your MAP policy. MAP is a seller-side instrument. A first-party listing below your MAP floor is not a violation to report.

How violations are handled

MAP enforcement is review-driven. To report a violation

1. Identify the listing, the advertised price, the MAP floor in your published schedule, and the effective date.
2. File the violation through the brand complaint channel. See Complaints, Takedowns and Anti-Counterfeit.

Handling is graduated: notice and an opportunity to correct first, then suppression of the violating offers, then review of the seller's authorization for repeat violations. A MAP violation does not move directly to termination; the process is built around correction because most first violations are mistakes.

If you are a seller and you receive a MAP notice, check three things before you respond

1. Is the product actually covered by a published MAP schedule?
2. Is your advertised price actually below the floor?
3. Was the policy in effect before your listing went live?

If any answer is no, say so in your response with the evidence. If all three answers are yes, correct the price and confirm the correction.