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From: hes@ecsvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro.amiga,net.micro.atari,net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: The real debate begins: Atari ST vs Commodore 128
Message-ID: <1064@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 10-Jan-86 08:31:43 EST
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.1064
Posted: Fri Jan 10 08:31:43 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 13-Jan-86 08:10:00 EST
References: <330@3comvax.UUCP>
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Organization: NC State Univ.
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Xref: watmath net.micro.amiga:1511 net.micro.atari:2292 net.micro.mac:4050

> Does Jack Tramiel think he can get away with undercutting his competition,
> retailing his products at K-MART type outlets, and forcing the competition
> to drop their prices (and eventually drop out of business) again?  ...
> 
> ... (I can't help but think of a $400 computer
> as anything but a TOY - albeit a great toy).
> 
> ...  If the Amiga prices don't fall, then
> (MY OPINION) people might just give the machine the respect it deserves.
> There is a saying that goes "you get what you pay for", and to most people,
> the Amiga will still be worth the price.
> ...
> /mykes
> At $400, the ST might make a nice printer buffer for my Amiga....
   
   Why doesn't Commodore just raise their prices up to the $10,000 range,
and then people will buy Amigas instead of PC-ATs?  One reason may be that
not everyone is convinced that list price == real value.  Furthermore, not
everyone buys the most valuable system - sometimes one can't afford it, and
has to settle for an affordable system.  (As for me I'm buying a Sun 3 with
hard disk server instead of a 520ST or Amiga -- at least that's what I'ld
like to do, if I had the money to do it.)

   Seriously - the major *real* problem is that Atari could disrupt their
dealer support network, making the 520ST less attractive to serious
buyers.  Of course since most developer/serious/hacker-type buyers seem to be
already buying via mail - there may be little support present anyway, and
then that loss will not make any difference.  The added volume of sales
of the ST would probably make developers more interested, though.

--henry schaffer  
Disclaimer + 1/2 :-)