Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!m.cs.uiuc.edu!p.cs.uiuc.edu!gillies
From: gillies@p.cs.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Apple Prices
Message-ID: <126900040@p.cs.uiuc.edu>
Date: 23 Jun 89 16:04:00 GMT
References: <126900038@p.cs.uiuc.edu>
Lines: 28
Nf-ID: #R:p.cs.uiuc.edu:126900038:p.cs.uiuc.edu:126900040:000:1269
Nf-From: p.cs.uiuc.edu!gillies    Jun 23 11:04:00 1989


I have heard that the prices differ because:

(1) Apple charges different prices to different universities.  They
give a "volume discount" to universities that buy a lot.

This still doesn't explain why Stanford prices are so cheap.  The U of
Illinois moves A LOT of macintoshes.

(2) Each university makes it own profit on the machine.  They charge
for order handling, stocking the components in their warehouse, and
paperwork pushers.

Here at the U of I you must have an in-town dealer set up your machine
(plug in the video card, big whoop).  These local dealers skim a
profit from the machine, ostensibly because they will be honoring the
warranty.  They basically weasled and kicked & screamed at Apple & the
U of Illinois to get "A Piece of the Action".  They use this
arrangement to bait & switch some customers into buying dealer
components (monitors, upgrades), instead of Apple components.  I sent
a complaint letter to Apple's regional marketing office, but they
never replied, and I assume they never did anything about it, since
this Apple VAR has a history of cheating students.


Don Gillies, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Illinois
1304 W. Springfield, Urbana, Ill 61801      
ARPA: gillies@cs.uiuc.edu   UUCP: {uunet,harvard}!uiucdcs!gillies