Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!texbell!sugar!ficc!peter
From: peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: Re: 1-2 vs unlimited licenses (Unix for a 386)
Message-ID: <5956@ficc.uu.net>
Date: 1 Sep 89 16:01:12 GMT
References: <1989Aug16.020438.5662@esegue.uucp> <7186@megatest.UUCP> <1109@virtech.UUCP>
Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
Lines: 29

In article <1109@virtech.UUCP>, cpcahil@virtech.UUCP (Conor P. Cahill) writes:
> wrongo.  A minimum algorithm would be if the 1-2 user system 
> can profitably be sold for $x + $x*markup, then the unlimited 
> user system can profitably be sold for $x+100 + ($x+100)*markup

This doesn't follow, because the retailer has no money at risk on the
unlimited license. They don't have to send the cash to AT&T until the
product sold, so the only capital at risk (which is what you should be
judging profit margins against) is the packaging and warehouse space.
If the cost on that is $x, with y% profit, then they can make the same
real profit (for salaries, stockholders, expansion, etc) on a limited
license at $(x *y%) + $50, or an unlimited license at $(x * y%) + $150.

They get a higher profit margin for the multiuser systems.

I suspect, actually, that this is justified... since I suspect that larger
multiuser systems suck up more of their support time.

> A second side issue is that I too am not all that happy about paying
> $3,000 for my 386 OS, especially when I call the customer service line
> and am told that I cannot get any direct support (I must go through
> my vendor who knows less about the product than I do).

Of course, if they're not providing support...
-- 
Peter da Silva, *NIX support guy @ Ferranti International Controls Corporation.
Biz: peter@ficc.uu.net, +1 713 274 5180. Fun: peter@sugar.hackercorp.com. `-_-'
"Your mother applies makeup with a hot-glue gun. Your sister bites mailmen.'U`
 Your face looks like it's been washed in acid and dried with a cheese-grater."