Will the nation’s highest court force higher prices?

In what might be one of the most important consumer-related cases to reach the U.S. Supreme Court in decades, the court has agreed to hear arguments on whether to give manufacturers greater leverage to dictate the "minimum" prices that retailers charge for their products.

The court is being asked to overturn its 1911 decision barring manufacturers from entering into agreements that force retailers to sell products at or above a specified minimum price. If the court agrees, the decision could make it impossible for discounters, including many low-price Web sites, to charge less for those products than other retailers. The court has set oral arguments for March 26.

"You'd be changing the fundamental structure of retailing at a moment when we have this new technology that has been very consumer friendly," said Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America.

On Feb. 26, the group filed an amicus brief asking the court not to overturn the rule, joining 37 state attorneys general, the American Antitrust Institute, and Burlington Coat Factory, a national discount retailer.

Among those asking the court to eliminate the restriction are the American Petroleum Institute, the cellular communications industry, and PING, a manufacturer of high-end golf products.

But the most notable opposition to preserving the restriction came from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice. In a joint brief, the agencies said price-maintenance practices should not be prohibited outright, as under current law, but only if they're deemed anti-competitive.

Costco reins in electronics returns

This just in from our colleagues at the CR Electronics Blog: Costco, long known for having one of the most liberal return policies of any retailer, has tightened the reins for returns on many electronics products,  including HDTVs. As a result of the new policy, which mirrors those already in place for computers, customers will now have only 90 days to return TVs, cameras, camcorders, iPods and other MP3 players, and cell phones.

Until the change, Costco had a open-ended return policy that allowed customers to return most electronics at any time. However, it is believed that the rapid and aggressive price drops on some consumer electronics items, particularly flat-panel TVs, left the company's liberal return policy open to abuse.

Perhaps in an effort to offset the new, tighter return restrictions, the company has rolled out free technical support for all the items covered by the new policy — plus computers — via Costco Concierge Services, and is extending the manufacturer's warranty on TVs and computers by two years. Customers purchasing items from either a Costco store or Costco.com can call the toll-free Concierge Services number at 1-866-861-0450 to receive either technical support or warranty service.

The company also announced a new in-home TV set-up service, priced at a flat rate of $89.99. The service does not include wall-mounting, however.

— James K. Willcox