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From: mentat@auscso.UUCP (Robert Dorsett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Apple Univ. Discount
Message-ID: <260@auscso.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 10-Sep-87 19:50:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: auscso.260
Posted: Thu Sep 10 19:50:30 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Sep-87 11:04:38 EDT
References: <1504@killer.UUCP> <2284@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> <2268@sphinx.uchicago.edu> <433@sdacs.ucsd.EDU>
Reply-To: mentat@auscso.UUCP (Robert Dorsett)
Distribution: na
Organization: Austin UNIX Users' Group, Austin, TX
Lines: 42
Keywords: how much is it?

In article <433@sdacs.ucsd.EDU> wade@sdacs.ucsd.EDU (Wade S. Blomgren) writes:
>Christopher Chow asks:
>> 
>>LaserWriter 		4999	3249	; not for sale to students (Why?)
>>LaserWriter Plus	5799	3827	; not for sale to students (Why?)
>
>My guess is that the high price of the LaserWriter, combined with the
>substantial discount, and the fact (?) that most students really are not
>in a position to purchase such a high ticket item for strictly personal 
>use makes the likelyhood of illegal reselling by students to private 
>sector entities too high in the minds of whoever makes such decisions. 

It seems rather odd to permit students to buy expensive computer systems (which
are often sold at or beneath dealer cost), but not laser printers.  Espec-
ially when it's possible to obtain laser printers in the 3000-4000 price range
on the mail order market (I seem to remember seeing adverts for laserwriters
for $3500).  It's fairly easy to detect attempts to resell such equipment.
Here in Austin, the used Mac market is virtually non-existent: we all had to
sign agreements not to sell our Macs for a couple of years, and to give the 
University (of Texas, which IS a Consortium member, despite their denials)
first chance at buy-back if we do.  All a store has to do is check the clas-
sifieds once in awhile and cross-check any names or phone numbers with student
lists.  

Another weird thing on purchase policies: I think that just about everyone 
out there will concede that the Mac II is an order of magnitude different
from the Macintosh; the only commonality is in the II's abilities to emulate
a Macintosh and use certain devices.  Here at UT, they are NOT letting students
who purchased Macs from the Consortium purchase Mac II's, apparently obeying 
the "one Mac per student" rule.

Again, one might argue the same risk of illegal resale of the equipment, but
the II price under the Consortium is an *incredible* deal.  Does anyone else
out there think this is unfair or unusual?




-- 
Robert Dorsett                          {allegra,seismo}!sally!ngp!walt!mentat
University of Texas at Austin           {allegra,seismo}!sally!ngp!mentat
                                        mentat@ausco.UUCP