Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!pepper!cmcmanis
From: cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Software Prices (very long)
Message-ID: <40582@sun.uucp>
Date: 1 Feb 88 18:17:35 GMT
References: <2420@crash.cts.com> <189@atrium.UUCP>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
Reply-To: cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis)
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 30

In article <189@atrium.UUCP> chanst@atrium.UUCP (Steve T Chan) writes:
> Let me comment on the very long article that I have just read..
> First off, I know support to a product is very important, BUT
> thats no excuse that it will sell (retail) so much, why is it
> cost so much for me to get a Lattice C Compiler (for example)
> at my local dealer, when I can get it from mail order company
> cheaper??  Now, I don't know about you, but I am feeling that
> I am getting ripped off just by buying it from my local dealer.
> Why can't he offer competitive prices as mail order company..

Your basic 'mail order' company is some guy sitting around his apartment
answering the phone. I knew a guy in college that ran one out of his 
dorm room, every semester he would trudge down to the PacTel business
office and get the 800 number changed to point to where he was moving to.

Because of this, it costs him nothing but time to sell this stuff. A dealer
on the other hand has to pay rent on the store front, and often commisions
to the salespeople. This comes out of their 'profit' as it were. So the
bottom line is this, they both pay the same price from the distributor
(although sometimes the mail order guy can sometimes get a better price if 
he does more volume) and the dealer has more overhead which he has to make
up. (Or he goes broke and packs up his store, you lose). 

Just for grins and giggles, the next time you are shopping at the 
Computer Attic in Palo Alto for a piece of software ask them for the
'Go Amigo' price :-) 

--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: cmcmanis  ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.