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From: news@caen.engin.umich.edu (CAEN Netnews)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: anti-educational discount legislati
Message-ID: <4625c131.a590@mag.engin.umich.edu>
Date: 10 Oct 89 17:45 GMT
References: <8400172@m.cs.uiuc.edu> <4297@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> <1989Oct2.102041.245@hellgate.utah.edu> <6758@ingr.com> <1989Oct6.130835.28348@hellgate.utah.edu>
Reply-To: swerling@caen.engin.umich.edu (Ace Swerling)
Organization: University of Michigan
Lines: 30

In article <1989Oct6.130835.28348@hellgate.utah.edu> t-jacobs@cs.utah.edu (Tony Jacobs) writes:
>Don't delude youself, companies are still making a profit off educational sales
>and are making a tax write off at the same time. They're not jacking up the
>sales price everywhere else to subsidize the educational market. I don't think
>the dealers price is much different from educational price, the big difference
>is that educational institutions aren't making a profit off the resale. (Well,
>maybe some are.)
>
>Tony Jacobs * Center for Engineering Design * U of U * t-jacobs@ced.utah.edu

Personally, I am in favor of educational discounts for the sound business
reasons that the computer companies do them.  They want students to get used to
using their computers in college when most people learn to use computers.  If
they feel comfortable using XYZ computers in college, when these students get
into the work force they'll want to use the same computers.  Discounting the
computers is a way to get them into these universities.  Also, if a major
university decides to buy a new computer, it's a very good way to get that
product established in the marketplace.  Discounts are a very good way to get
universities to buy these new computers.  Companies also get cheap trouble-shooting operations in university computing centers.  I know that these companies do
make a profit on these machines.  Otherwise, it would be dumping and they would
be shut down by the Federal Trade Comission.  It's just in the company's best
interests to make less profit in the university market.

Also, for your information, the University of Michigan does make a profit when
it resells computers to its students.  They say that it goes toward maintaining
the public computers at computing sites.

-Ace
I am not connected with the university in any way except sending the tuition
checks.