Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!cica!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!nisca.ircc.ohio-state.edu!hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu!bobd
From: bobd@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Bob DeBula)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: anti-educational discount legislati
Message-ID: <307@nisca.ircc.ohio-state.edu>
Date: 11 Oct 89 14:53:43 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> <4625c131.a590@mag.engin.umich.edu>
Organization: Ohio State Univ IRCC
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This whole issue is interesting in that indeed various corporations get
discounts from the vendor (and for quantity).  Will passage of such legislation
be a step toward "price fixing" for the computer industry?  I think the
retailers are getting overly greedy with this one.  Why is it fair to discount
for industries and not for education?  Many students (and faculty and staff)
here would not own Macs were it not for the discounts which make them
affordable (errr, *almost* affordable, it's always a bit of a stretch       
financially to purchase Apple equipment).  Also, many of us staffers accept
the lower pay of the University environment over private industry because
of such side benefits (and a lower level of the "rat race" syndrome to
varying degrees).  I can't see any real benefit to it and I can't realistically
see lower street prices as a result (remember the times Apple has raised 
prices because they have essentially a captive audience; You could argue
that street prices might go up because volume would slip and the profit
margin needs to be maintained).  I tend to think that many of the folks 
supporting this legislation on the net might be suffering from "Mac discount
Envy" :-)

(he dawns his asbestos suit even as he posts....)

-=-
==========================================================================
Bob DeBula                    | Internet:   bobd@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu
The Ohio State University     | Disclaimer: These are my views, not the U's
Davros sez:   When my Daleks compute they use X-TER-MI-NALS!