Timken makes all kinds of industrial belts, but our Ultimax brand is the most well-known by many end users. Why? Powersports. For more than 30 years, Ultimax has provided consumers the most advanced belt on the market for continuously variable transmission (CVT) drives. It’s what connects power to the ground for snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility terrain vehicle (UTV) and side-by-sides.
Timken SMO LLC (“Timken Belts”) is a leader in the engineering, manufacture and sale of power
transmission belts, including its Ultimax® powersports performance belts, which have a strong reputation
and following among customers. Key to its success is its unparalleled commitment to building close and
enduring relationships with its high-quality network of authorized wholesale distributors (“Authorized
Wholesalers”) who provide consistent, high-quality customer service, product technical support and
trained field sales professionals and represent the Ultimax premium brand image appropriately.
To ensure Timken Belts maintains its strong reputation and brand image for high performance Ultimax
products, Timken Belts has established this online minimum advertised price policy (“MAP Policy”) for
its Ultimax powersports performance belts. This MAP Policy is also designed to protect the investment of
Timken Belts’ Authorized Wholesalers that provide valued services for customers and end users of
Timken Belts’ Ultimax products and to allow Authorized Wholesalers to profitably market and promote
the products while upholding the Ultimax premium brand image. This MAP Policy is applicable to all of
Timken Belts’ Authorized Wholesalers of Ultimax powersports belts in the United States.
Timken Belts’ Authorized Wholesalers, and any downstream resellers (e.g. other distributors, retailers or
dealers) (“Resellers”), may not advertise any online price for the Ultimax belt products listed in Appendix
A (the “Covered Products”) below the minimum advertised prices listed in Appendix A (the “MAP
Prices”). The MAP Price for each Covered Product is unilaterally established by Timken Belts. MAP
Prices may be adjusted at any time by Timken Belts in its sole discretion upon written notice.
This MAP Policy does not require Authorized Wholesalers or Resellers to advertise any prices online or
otherwise. This MAP Policy does not establish maximum advertised prices – Authorized Wholesalers and
Resellers are free to advertise the Covered Products at any price equal to or higher than the MAP Prices.
Also, this MAP Policy applies only to all advertised prices and not to the prices at which the Covered
Products are actually sold to the Authorized Wholesaler’s customer or the Reseller’s customer. ALL
AUTHORIZED WHOLESALERS AND RESELLERS REMAIN FREE TO SET SELLING PRICES
INDEPENDENTLY AND TO DETERMINE INDEPENDENTLY WHETHER TO ABIDE BY THE
MAP PRICES AND THIS MAP POLICY.
Authorized Wholesalers shall inform their customers that are Resellers of the Covered Products of this
MAP Policy and provide a copy of this MAP Policy to them.
This MAP Policy applies to all online advertisements of Covered Products in any and all media,
including, without limitation, all electronic brochures, catalogs, coupons, magazines, newspapers, and
advertisements, online banner ads, online paid search engine ads, broadcast e-mails, internet websites,
landing pages, social networks, online marketplaces, shipping sites, etc. This MAP Policy does not apply
to in-store advertising such as in-store displays or in-store signs.
An Authorized Wholesaler or Reseller may advertise that customers may contact the Authorized
Wholesaler or Reseller to learn the actual sale price, such as “call for a price” or “email for a price.” For
“email for a price,” any response must be individualized and not an automated or auto-generated
response.
A price that can be seen on the Authorized Wholesaler or Reseller’s website by the customer clicking on
“add to shopping cart” or “click here to check out” functions of the website (but before the item is
actually placed in the “virtual shopping cart”) will be considered by Timken Belts to be an advertised
price and is covered by this MAP Policy. However, a price that can only be seen by a customer after the
customer has placed the item in the “virtual shopping cart” will not be considered by Timken Belts to be
an advertised price.
It will not be a violation of this MAP Policy to advertise in general that the Authorized Wholesaler or
Reseller has “the lowest prices” or will match or beat its competitors’ prices, or to use similar phrases, so
long as the Authorized Wholesaler or Reseller does not include any advertised price below the MAP Price
and otherwise complies with this MAP Policy.
Advertised price refers to the stated price less any discounts, coupons, or rebates offered at the same time.
Free shipping will not be considered a violation, but cannot be represented as a value/discount which
would ultimately reduce the advertised price below the MAP Price.
Timken Belts may discontinue certain Ultimax products or engage in promotions. In such events, Timken
Belts reserves the right to modify or suspend the MAP Policy with respect to the affected products.
For purposes of determining compliance with this MAP Policy, Timken Belts will consider an Authorized
wholesaler to have violated the MAP Policy if it or its downstream Reseller, to whom it has sold Covered
Product, advertises an online price for a Covered Product below Timken Belts’ MAP Price for it. An
Authorized Wholesaler will be subject to the consequences of violations of the MAP Policy by its
downstream Resellers as if it (the Authorized Wholesaler) had committed those violations. Timken Belts
will consider each instance of an advertised price of a Covered Product below Timken Belts’ MAP Price
as one violation of this MAP Policy. However, all contemporaneous copies of such violating advertised
price shall be considered a single violation of the MAP Policy.
If an Authorized Wholesaler or its downstream Reseller advertises any Covered Product in a manner that
violates this MAP Policy, as determined by Timken Belts, Timken Belts may unilaterally, and without
further warning, impose consequences on the Authorized Wholesaler that it believes are appropriate
which may include, without limitation, those set forth below.
1st violation – First written warning – Authorized Wholesaler has 14
days from the date of first written warning to correct the
violation
2nd violation– (2nd new violation within 1 year of 1st
violation, or 1st violation not corrected
within 14 days after first written
warning) – Second written warning – Authorized Wholesaler has
another 14 days from the date of second written warning to
correct the violation
3rd violation and subsequent violations –
(3rd or subsequent new violation within 1
year of 1st violation, or 1st or 2nd violation
not corrected within 14 days after second
written warning) – Timken will, in its own discretion, impose one or more of
the consequences below, for each additional violation:
Written warning – Authorized Wholesaler has another 14
days from the date of the written warning to correct the
violation
30-day (or longer) order suspension for Ultimax
products – 30-day order (or longer) suspension placed on
the Authorized Wholesaler for Ultimax products
30-day (or longer) order suspension for all products –
30-day (or longer) order suspension placed on the
Authorized Wholesaler for all products that the Authorized
Wholesaler is authorized to purchase
De-authorization of the Authorized Wholesaler
A violation is deemed to be accrued regardless of whether the violation has been corrected at the time the
written warning is given.
Timken Belts alone will determine whether a violation has occurred, and whether a violation has been
corrected. Timken Belts may impose different consequences than those described above, which are
presented as examples and are not intended to limit Timken Belts’ discretion to unilaterally choose a
course of action.
Timken Belts has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor, review or audit Authorized Wholesalers’ or
Resellers’ advertisements and websites for violations of this MAP Policy. Timken Belts does not
represent that it will impose a penalty for every violation or impose identical penalties for the same
violation by different Authorized Wholesalers or Resellers: these matters are within Timken Belts’ sole
discretion. Even if Timken Belts does not impose consequences for any violation of this MAP Policy in
any instance, this will not operate as a waiver of Timken Belts’ right to require strict compliance in the
future.
This MAP Policy is issued unilaterally by Timken Belts and is not subject to negotiation. This MAP
Policy is not a contract or agreement, and Timken Belts does not seek nor will it accept any Authorized
Wholesaler’s or Reseller’s agreement or assurance to abide by such policy, nor will Timken Belts discuss
pricing of any Authorized Wholesaler or Reseller with another Authorized Wholesaler or Reseller.
Timken Belts does not intend to nor will it coerce any Authorized Wholesaler or Reseller to comply with
this MAP Policy.
All matters of interpretation and application of the terms of this MAP Policy shall remain within the sole
discretion of Timken Belts. Timken Belts’ determination concerning whether there has been a violation of
this MAP Policy shall be final and binding.
Timken Belts reserves the right at any time in its sole discretion to modify this MAP Policy (including
without limitation the list of Covered Products), to establish new or different policies or to discontinue
any or all of such policies.
All inquiries regarding this MAP Policy are to be sent via email to the Timken Belts MAP administrator
at belts@timken.com. Timken Belts sales personnel are not authorized to discuss any Authorized
Wholesaler’s or Reseller’s violation of this MAP Policy.
Besides monitoring and MAP policy enforcement we also develop a healthy relationship with your compliant sellers.
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