Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!amdcad!ames!nrl-cmf!ukma!gatech!hubcap!ncrcae!ncr-sd!crash!pro-pac.CTS.COM!tsouth
From: tsouth@pro-pac.CTS.COM (Todd South)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Dongle blues (software prices)
Message-ID: <2408@crash.cts.com>
Date: 24 Jan 88 13:37:46 GMT
Sender: news@crash.cts.com
Lines: 37

>> In article <155@atrium.UUCP>, chanst@atrium.UUCP (Steve T Chan) writes:
>  In Article: <4744@watdragon.waterloo.edu>, palarson@ (Paul Larson) writes:

>> If the software companies could just get the software prices lower, then
>> people will buy them to get the documentation instead of just pirating
>> them, I just hope that the software companies will listen and drop their
>> prices.. See, $20-50 is a reasonable price for a software package in
>> my point of view, but $90-200 or 300 is way overpriced.  How would
>> you expect people to buy stuff thats overpriced?? They don't

>  In my opinion, your suggestion of software packages for lessa than fifty
>  dollars each is ludicrous, considering the how much development time and
>  effort a good piece of software represents.  However, we do live in a
>  capitalist democracy, so nothing is preseventing you from voting with your
>  wallet.

Paul, it's your kind of thinking that really blows me away in terms of the
actual authors making money on software.  If a mail-order house can buy
software (or hardware) for a _low_ price, and sell it for sometimes as much
as 80 dollars (US) less, then how can you say that the authors would NOT make
the same amount of money simply distributing it to the end-user themselves?
I still think that there are too many middle people in this market, and
most of the major companies like it that way.  Ultimately, the reason that
a number of contributers to this system, who write commercially, seem to
discount is the fact that each and every software purchase by a majority of
users is a _major_ purchase, and that, my friends, is why piracy exists.
It is not just the simple fact that people cannot afford it, but that they
cannot afford to get burned, also, with each purchase that doesn't do what
they need.

Todd South

     +------------------------------------------------------------------+
     | uucp: crash!pnet01!pro-simasd!pro-pac!tsouth | Now I only get 50 |
     | Todd South : Ewa Beach, HI.                  | cents less than   |
     | Pacific Proline: (808) 499-2831 2400 bd.     | minimum wage...   |
     +------------------------------------------------------------------+