Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!spool.mu.edu!uunet!super!grantham From: grantham@super.ORG (Jon Grantham) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc Subject: Re: MSDOS v5.0 (Egghead) Message-ID: <46798@super.ORG> Date: 17 Jun 91 19:46:38 GMT References: <23375@shlump.lkg.dec.com> <1991Jun11.223417.30511@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> <1991Jun13.044059.22347@cbnewsd.att.com> Sender: news@super.ORG Organization: Supercomputing Research Center, Bowie, Md. Lines: 35 In article <1991Jun13.044059.22347@cbnewsd.att.com> sammy@cbnewsd.att.com (Sammy) writes: >Egghead also has a special on a Que book on 5.0 for $9.95. Probably >worth it. Not the evil manual from hell!! Ok, so disclaimer, I haven't actually read the whole manual, but it's on "Installing dos 5.0", and they were pushing it like they were making up the money on that that they're losing by selling 5.0 so cheaply (hmm...)... One person asked, well didn't it already come with a manual & the Egghead guy said, well, but it's not written in "English". Yuk. Oh, and it's 13.99 if you come back later, so of course once 90% of the users realize they won't have any problems installing, they've already been sucked up by Egghead's "deal". Is this the way things work? 1) Egghead can sell things so cheap 'cause they got a deal from Microsoft by buying bulk. 2) They're not trying to make any money off 5.0 by itself. 3) They're making money by pushing stuff you may or may not need off on you while you're buying 5.0. 4) The "Instant Rebate" is an excuse to build up their mailing list, which they can use in the future or sell to other companies, thus helping transfer the former contents of the Amazon rain forest directly to your mailbox. 5) People will come to Egghead for the cheap DOS & stay for the fabulous whatever. Disclaimer: Hey, I was perfectly happy to buy 5.0 from them. And if this is the way they make money, great. The only thing that I thought was overly slimy was taking advantage of inexperienced people by telling them that they needed the book & charging them extra if they have to come back for it. Jon -- JFG@ub.cc.umich.edu grantham@metropolis.super.org uunet!super!grantham "My only response is a non-response."