Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!nrl-cmf!ames!ll-xn!singer
From: singer@XN.LL.MIT.EDU (Matthew R. Singer)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: lotus chairman makes 26 million
Keywords: copy protection piracy
Message-ID: <1002@xn.LL.MIT.EDU>
Date: 18 May 88 17:06:22 GMT
References: <9160@cisunx.UUCP> <1801@uhccux.UUCP> <807@netxcom.UUCP> <2767@tekig5.TEK.COM>
Organization: MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA
Lines: 37

In article <2767@tekig5.TEK.COM>, wayneck@tekig5.TEK.COM (Wayne Knapp) writes:
> 
>    You are really off base.  The programmer often gets less than 15% of the
> wholesale cost of the software.  A decent package will cost around $10 to
> produce and normally one sells software packages to distributors for 40% of
> the list price. They move the software out to store and by mail order at around
> 55% to 70% of list.  Store resell it at around 80% to 100% of list price.  You 
> can save a lot by buying mail order.   
> 
>     Now lets say the author gets a good contract how much dose he make?
> 
>       List price     Wholesale price      -minus cost    author gets
>     -------------------------------------------------------------------
>        $50                $20                 $10            $1.50
>       $100                $40                 $30            $4.50
>       $250               $100                 $90           $13.50 
>   
> So if the author has put over a year in his work (often much more) he needs
> to set the price at a level where he can make good money for the year.  It is
> simply supply and demand.  He isn't a profiteer.  He is trying to survive.  
  .
  .
  .

>    So I think that anyone who copies a program without paying should have to
> pay the author 100 times what he would normally make for the sell and also 
> have his floppy cut off.  Priates are the true PROFITEERS - why do you think
> they are called priates!  
> 
>                                       Wayne Knapp  


Minor correction:



Software distributors get a 60% discount. Dealers get 40%.