Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!pacbell!pacbell.com!ucsd!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!noose.ecn.purdue.edu!iuvax!bobmon
From: bobmon@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (RAMontante)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: $99 Quattro offer
Message-ID: <57582@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu>
Date: 8 Sep 90 14:45:35 GMT
Organization: malkaryotic
Lines: 53

leo@hoss.unl.edu (Leo Chouinard) <1990Sep07.182229.4838@hoss.unl.edu> :
| 
| 2)  What are Borland's policies on educational discounts?  Does it have
| to be an institutional purchase, or do individuals (faculty/students)
| qualify for those discounts?  (Sorry, I guess that's three questions!  :-)

At I.U. the University Computing Services organization has apparently
arranged something with Borland (and various other vendors).  I got a
preprinted coupon from them for a Quattro or Quattro Pro package, which
had a blank for the course that I would use the software in --- I was
advised to specify A200, which by coincidence is a "computer literacy"
course that might well cover spreadsheets.  (In fact, I use the
spreadsheet to hold rosters for courses I teach, such as "operating
systems".)

I don't have an educational division address, since I mailed in the coupon,
but here is:
	Borland
	1800 Green Hills Road
	POBox 660001
	Scotts Valley, CA  95066-0001
	attention:  Educational Marketing  (or some plausible phrase)

	Customer service:  408-438-5300

tangential comments follow:


I ordered the basic Quattro spreadsheet, which is $49 and would have
done what I need.  After I got through the operators and cried that
they'd sent me a completely incorrect package, a very nice Customer
Service Rep.  sent me a Quattro Pro package in two days and told me to
just keep the other thing.  (I now have not only Quattro Pro, but a
license pack to network it as soon as I install ethernet and a second
node in my efficiency apartment :-)

Looking at all their literature, it is my impression that A) Borland wants
to price things at levels that will reassure corporate accountants --- $495
looks like what corporate software *should* cost;  B) they want the sort of
mass sales they get from reasonable prices; so  C) they are extremely
flexible about "discounts" and "special sales" and whatnot whose purpose
is to entice you to spend roughly $100 - $150 on something with a much
higher "list price".

BTW, at $100 - $150 I would say that Quattro Pro would be a very good deal
to someone who needed a full-featured spreadsheet/printing thing (that
wasn't me).  At $69, I can happily ignore the useless Bitstream fonts and
multiple graphs and things, and sort, query, etc. my gradebooks.  And I
*will* find a use for that Linear Programming feature ("Advanced Math"
menu).  As for Borland, my long-time impression is that their marketing
organization is chronically in a state of chaos, but their hearts are
in the right place.  I like the experiences I've had with the company, and
I expect to continue to be their customer.