I registered a $300K project with Sony (and Anixter) and for the most part we installed Sony PTZ's and several domes, total of 45 cameras. We also spec'd and sold 20 Axis 5MP cameras because Sony didn't have a 5MP offering.
Now I find out that the Sony manufacturers rep was in the customer's office doing demos and dealing direct with them unbeknownst to me. I felt betrayed as they used the project I brought to them and are now selling direct to the end user. Maybe it was initiated by my end user but I still feel that the manufacturer/rep company I gave the information to should have at least contacted me about it. I called the rep firm and asked them about this end around and they backtracked saying 'our job is to bring our company product lines to our customers'....Lesson learned -->No more Sony camera sales for me, they're overpriced and losing market share anyway.
Absolute BS and going forward I will register no projects with distributors or manufacturer rep companies. I advise you do the same if you want to reduce the risk of this happening. What do you get anyway? 3-5 points? That's not enough to make or break winning a project, if it is, you're just a public bid house.
NOTICE: This comment was moved from an existing discussion: Has An Axis RSM Ever Brought In a Competitor Integrator Into One Of Your Customers?