Let's address a few things.

First, I probably should have titled this thread "Support your retail dealer" as that was my intention. Unfortunately, some no longer have the benefit of a dealer in their area. There are a number of very reputable and excellent dealers who do much of their business with people they may never meet in person. Nothing at all wrong with this. They are retail dealers and helping to keep the line going.

As for taking a two digit autoship number away from one dealer to give to another - don't think this is going to happen as long as the dealer that currently receives it continues to be a dealer in good standing. That certainly would not be fair to the current dealer who may have that number promised to a collector. This is kind of a situation where your dealer will have to wait in line for another dealer to give up a two digit autoship. Of course, it is up to the dealer to be sure HL knows they would like a two digit and have a collector who would begin autoship if they were to receive one. HL does not sell to collectors, so it is a dealer responsibility to be sure the desire is made known.

Rich, a part of the dealer agreement with HL is that they will sell at MSRP. Dealers know that (or certainly should if they read the agreement) and should honor that requirement. If they feel they need to dump product to stay afloat, they should stop their autoship and cease being a HL dealer. These dealers make a concious decision to violate an agreement and in so doing they make it difficult for other honest dealers to compete on an even footing. This type of clause in a dealer agreement is not unique to HL. To me personally, it does not say much about the integrity of a dealer that is so willing to violate the terms of their agreement. I don't think I could trust that dealer enough to do business with them. All they are doing is chasing away legit dealers, and when they have done that they will also be chasing away the collector that wants the pieces.

Don't care about the secondary as that is pretty much in the dumper at this point. I do care about the viability of the line and its ability to find enough customers to sell product to that they can continue.