Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!arizona.edu!arizona!dave
From: dave@cs.arizona.edu (Dave Schaumann)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Subject: Pricey disk magazines (was Re: Amiga World / Amaz
Summary: why so expensive?
Message-ID: <1366@caslon.cs.arizona.edu>
Date: 10 Apr 91 06:08:03 GMT
References: <475@cbmtor.uucp> <1061@pallas.athenanet.com>
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson
Lines: 38
Foo: bar

In article <1061@pallas.athenanet.com> wally@pallas.athenanet.com (Wally Hartshorn) writes:
>I'm perfectly willing to pay good money for a good technical magazine.  I

Me, too.

>What I'm not willing to pay for is a disk that I don't want.  The first
>AmigaWorld Tech disk, for instance, contained a PD C compiler (which I
>don't want, since I already have Manx), a demo of PowerWindows (which I
>don't want, since I already have the real thing), ParNet (which I don't
>need), and SerNet (ditto).  That's 500K right there that's a total waste
>for me.  [...] $16/copy, including the disk [...]

You know, it wouldn't be nearly so bad if including a disk with a magazine
wasn't automatic justification for doubling (or tripling!) the cover price.

I mean, what gives?  You've got your typical Ami-Mag (sans disk) which sells
for $4 or $5.  Mailing a disk in a mailer costs ~$.75, and magazines can buy
enough disks to get a nice bulk discount.  So say $1.75 additional cost for
the disk plus extra shipping.  Now, the few disk magazines I've bought
contained almost entirely PD software, which means perhaps a bit of money
to download or whatever, but that's a 1-time cost, and spread out over a
lot of disks, the software should be virtually free.

So what you've got is a $2 additional expense to producing and delivering
the magazine, but a $5 to $6 hike in the cover price.  Now, I suppose if
I didn't have a modem and access to lots of nice BBS's locally and around
the country, this might not seem like a rip-off.

On the other hand, when you can get yourself a 2400 baud modem for the price
of 10 of these disk magazines, you really gotta wonder.  Personally, I'm not
interested in paying $10 for software I can get for free (or quite cheaply)
with my modem.

Follow ups to c.s.a.advocacy.


-- 
Dave Schaumann | dave@cs.arizona.edu | Short .sig's rule!