To publish or not publish Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP); that is the question. Some say there are reasons to not do so, and the auto industry didn't do it until they were forced to do so by the government. I've a fair amount of experience with Recreational Vehicles (RVs). Some manufacturers post MSRP on their websites, some include stickers for the units, and some do not. I suppose there's nothing wrong with buying products with no MSRP as long as you are aware of the fact that the dealer can charge anything he wishes, so you'd better check with more than one dealer before buying. I visited one RV manufacturer's plant in Oregon several years ago when I thought I might be interested in buying one of their motorhomes. Even being at the plant in person, they would tell me absolutely nothing about prices; only to contact a dealer.
Well, I bought another brand (one that does publish their MSRP). And sure enough, I happened to be at a dealer in Texas a couple of years later and they had one of the Oregon made motorhomes in for repairs and were having a problem with the electrical system. Now the problem with the electrical system would have been annoying to anyone, but the worst part was that the owners said they had paid $120k for the unit, only to discover that if they had gone to a different dealer, they could have bought it for $80k.
Personal choice is a great idea. You can shop where you want, and so can I. When I shop ads in the newspaper or on the Internet, I never even bother with an ad that doesn't include a price. But unfortunately, I did not see any published MSRP when I bought my Kubotas, either, so what I did was visited four different Kubota dealers before buying. I did not tell any of them what another dealer's price was, don't know what kind of profit they made, and don't care. But I know I got a "fair" deal.
