Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL From: SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET (Murph Sewall) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple Subject: Re: Beware Message-ID: <8904131751.aa14485@SMOKE.BRL.MIL> Date: 13 Apr 89 20:03:44 GMT References: Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 37 >1. Check with your local economist. I believe that "monopoly status" >means "one source of supply, therefore arbitrarily high prices." One source of supply - check. But NOT "arbitrarily high" prices. There's a substitute for ANYTHING (often inconvenient). Even a monopolist's prices are constrained by the price and convenience of subsitutes. And the monopolist that's paying attention recognizes that customers have an option of changing their lifestyle in time to mitigate against prices that are too high. If Apple *really* charges too much, Amiga (to say nothing of "Big Blue" and the dwarfs ) sell more computers than they otherwise would. When OPEC quadrupled oil prices in the early 70's consumers suffered in the SHORT run. In the longer run they insullated homes and business, and bought more fuel efficient cars (and opened a lot of new coal mines) among other things that reduced demand and created a World-wide oil glut that's still with us (at peak crude oil spot prices were roughly double what they are today). [I know this ain't "apple2" folks, but a little economic awareness can make you a smarter computer shopper -- depending on what you REALLY need to do with your computer, you may find that always having *last year's* technology is far more economically efficient -- or when a '486 PC for under $10,000 is released I'll finally be able to afford a 25 MHz '386 ;-) ] Murph Sewall Vaporware? ---> [Gary Larson returns 1/1/90] Prof. of Marketing Sewall@UConnVM.BITNET Business School sewall%uconnvm.bitnet@mitvma.mit.edu [INTERNET] U of Connecticut {psuvax1 or mcvax }!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL [UUCP] (203) 486-5246 [FAX] (203) 486-2489 [PHONE] 41 49N 72 15W [ICBM] -+- I don't speak for my employer, though I frequently wish that I could (subject to change without notice; void where prohibited)