In the United States, the list price is referred to as the manufacturer's suggested retail price or MSRP. Under earlier US state
Fair Trade statutes, the
manufacturer was able to impose a fixed price for items. The fixed prices could offer some
price protection to small
merchants in competition against larger retail organizations. These were determined to be in
restraint of trade. Many manufacturers have adopted MSRP, a price at which the manufacturer suggests the item be priced by a retailer. The term "suggested" can be misleading because in many cases, the MSRP is extremely high compared to the actual wholesale cost, opening the market to "
deep discounters", who are able to sell products substantially below the MSRP but still make a profit. The discount stores benefit from exorbitant MSRPs because the discount offered increases the perceived value to customers.
Automobiles A common use for MSRP can be seen in
automobile sales in the United States. Prior to the spread of manufacturer's suggested retail pricing, there were no defined prices on vehicles, and
car dealers were able to impose arbitrary
markups, often with prices adjusted to what the salesperson thought the prospective purchaser would be willing to pay for a particular vehicle. Currently, the MSRP, or "sticker price", the price of a
vehicle as labeled by the manufacturer, is clearly labeled on the windows of all new vehicles, on a
Monroney sticker, commonly called the "window sticker". The sticker was added as part of the Automobile Information Disclosure Act of 1958. The MSRP is different from the actual price paid to the manufacturer by the dealer, which is known as the "
invoice price". There are now numerous sources, such as online appraisal tools, that can be used to find the MSRP and invoice price. ==Minimum advertised price==