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From: keithd@cadovax.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: 1 Megabit DRAMs
Message-ID: <1729@cadovax.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 30-Aug-87 16:25:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: cadovax.1729
Posted: Sun Aug 30 16:25:44 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 1-Sep-87 01:10:10 EDT
References: <8708290953.AA14970@cogsci.berkeley.edu>
Reply-To: keithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle)
Organization: Contel Business Systems, Torrance, CA
Lines: 45
Keywords: cost

In article <8708290953.AA14970@cogsci.berkeley.edu> bryce@COGSCI.BERKELEY.EDU (Bryce Nesbitt) writes:
>I have heard rumors that as part of the fallout of the Japan <=> US trade
>games, AMD and others may start producing DRAM again.

This would seem to be a totally stupid move.  They gear up for making
DRAMs and then a year from now a president decides to lift the embargo,
and they all of a sudden have to compete with the Japanese again.  Though
I guess if that's the kind of brains AMD has, they deserve what they get, huh?

>The US has ruled that the Japanese manufactures where selling DRAM to the
>United States at a loss.  Instead of thanking the Japanese for their
>generosity :-) :-), a stiff import duty was added to incoming RAM.

Which has probably done more harm to American companies than Japanese
ones.  Tendency to view the import duty as 'protection' for US companies
would seem to be misguided, as the short-termness of that move,
(wasn't it supposed to last only 1 year or something anyway?) seems almost
assured.  It was only supposed to be a 'penalty' against the Japanese
for dumping I believe, not an umbrella for US companies who might decide
to get back into the DRAM business.

Besides, isn't there something know as a 'loss leader' or something like
that, where a store might sell something for less than it cost them, just
to get people into the store to buy other stuff?  Kind of an advertising
expense.  You know, free giveaways, contests, etc.   For example, I've
always thought that computer stores were stupid not to sell blank disks
at cost, because it will keep people coming into the store to buy blanks
and maybe buy other stuff while they're there.  But NO, computer stores
tend to sell blanks at list price, so as soon as you get your hardware,
you may never go back to that store because you'll be buying your disks
and software at discount houses instead of at the computer store.  DUMB.
If the computer store can't interest you into going into the store after
you've got your hardware, you sure aren't going to be buying anything 
else from them.  

Now let's say a computer store decided to actually sell blank disks for
a little less than they paid for them to REALLY cause a feeding frenzy
and get people into their store.  Would a neighboring store that sold
primarily blank disks have a case against them for 'dumping'?  What if
one store had the budget for a big contest of some sort with big prize 
money.  Would a neighboring store have a case against them because they
had a bigger budget for a contest than the neighboring store could afford?

Keith Doyle
#  {ucbvax,decvax}!trwrb!cadovax!keithd Contel Business Systems 213-323-8170