KidCo will join the ranks of companies insisting on minimum advertised prices, or MAPS, for sellers of its products. From a consumer standpoint, that means that beginning January 1, 2009, buying a KidCo stairway safety gate will cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of the $185 list price instead of the $65 you could get it for now. I'm guessing December sales for the company's products will be up on Amazon.com, where components of these sturdy gates routinely sell for 60% off or more. The party's (almost) over.

Or is it?

Minimum Advertised Prices have been around for years, but the Supreme Court weighed in only last year to say that such practices were truly legal. Since then we've seen companies like Britax, Medela, Black & Decker, and Sony step up their use and enforcement of MAPs, companies like Amazon.com dance a little more with their "put this in your cart/click this link to learn the 'real' price" strategy, third-party services for detecting and tamping down unauthorized sales flourish, and discounters including eBay, Costco, BabyAge.com [affiliate link], and others are meeting this week to plot a course for getting the ruling overturned.

But there's no telling whether discounters are likely to get the Supreme Court's ruling overturned. In the short term, at least, KidCo will have its way, and heavily discounted prices on their gates will be rare violations of seller agreements and will be quickly shut down. If you're in the market for a safety gate, we highly recommend KidCo's, so take a look and see how the discounts shape up.