Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!orion.oac.uci.edu!ucivax!jarthur!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!rex!ukma!dftsrv!heawk1!hoepfner From: hoepfner@heawk1.gsfc.nasa.gov (Patrick Hoepfner) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps Subject: Re: prices Message-ID: Date: 26 Apr 91 01:17:52 GMT References: <1991Apr20.210745.4915@athena.mit.edu> <1991Apr22.055054.7976@hawk.cs.ukans.edu> <110@eclectic.COM> <1991Apr25.174251.4967@colorado.edu> Sender: news@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov Distribution: usa Lines: 42 wilde@tigger.Colorado.EDU (Nick Wilde) writes: >In article <110@eclectic.COM> kovar@eclectic.COM (David C. Kovar) writes: >>> >>>I second that! Yes, these prices sorely tempt me to piracy. >> If you set your price low, like more than 20% lower than your competition, >>many people will believe that your product is inferior simply due to the >>fact that it costs significantly less than other products. "If it's that >>cheap, there must be something wrong with it." So you'd pick up a few >>more sales from people who can't afford any product in the price range, >>but you'd lose a lot more sales from those people who can afford the >>going prices. >I'm really not picking on David here (I don't even know the man >so why should I pick on him ?) But this is an oft-repeated piece of >wisdom for which I've seen suspiciousely little real data to back it >up. The one piece of software that doubled in price without much additions to it was Director. MacroMind said (in MacWEEK I think) that people were not taking it seriously because it was only about $100. So when it was renamed to Director (from whatever its former name was) it either doubled or tripled in price because that is what people "expected" to pay for a package like it. Another popular myth going around is that "piracy" only occurs in homes because people can't afford the product. I have read of many institutions where piracy is strictly forbidden by the upper management but the middle managers say we can't afford this or it takes to long to get, so get a copy and get the job done. At NASA we opened a blanket purchase agreement with several mail order houses and a couple of local dealers so that when things are needed, the scientists or engineers can get the software over night. I think that in many cases it isn't even the cost. If you have to wait 3-4 months to get an application (or even an upgrade to one) who is going to bother! As always, just my thoughts... hoepfner@heasfs.gsfc.nasa.gov NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center