Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!caesar.cs.montana.edu!milton!blake!ramsiri
From: ramsiri@blake.acs.washington.edu (Enartloc Nhoj)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: OK, so they sell the STe in Europe...
Message-ID: <5681@blake.acs.washington.edu>
Date: 9 Feb 90 17:27:56 GMT
References: <9002020807.AA08400@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> <4876ef20.14a1f@force.UUCP> <25D25D4C.14957@paris.ics.uci.edu>
Reply-To: ramsiri@blake.acs.washington.edu (Enartloc Nhoj)
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Lines: 56

In article <25D25D4C.14957@paris.ics.uci.edu> jvance@ics.uci.edu (Joachim Vance) writes:
>In article <4876ef20.14a1f@force.UUCP> covertr@force.UUCP (Richard E. Covert) 
>writes:
>>  (stuff deleted..)
>>
>>The is NO REASON for Atari STs to be so poorly marketed here in the USA.
>>With a better marketing and distribution system, the USA could easily lead
>>Europe in sales of Atari products! 
>> (more deleted..)
>>Without good marketing, your product is dead. And Atari Corp has 
>>never had decent marketing and dsitribution here in the USA.
>
>  Sure, there is a great reason, and you hit it on the nose. 
>Atari has *NEVER* been any good at marketing in the U.S.
>And they don't seem to be heading in the right direction yet either.  
>Atari is able to make decent to good products
>inexpensively and they sell them where people appreciate that,
>Europe mainly, and most other countries except the U.S.  Marketing

I think there is a misunderstanding here.  HOw possible is
it for someone in the US to even have the chance to "appreciate"
the ST if they have never been "informed" or made aware
that the machines even exist!

>here takes a lot of know how that Atari just doesn't have.  Besides,

I think the "know-how" is there... it's just a matter of "choice"
and taking a risk. Atari obviously doesn't believe their company
and products are competitive with Apple and Commodore and so on..
otherwise they would clearly be in the ring together...  when 
a company doesn't believe in their own product.. it's hard
for consumers to.

>the cost that it takes to meet the FCC regulations in the U.S. just
>doesn't seem to fit with Atari's "make 'em as cheap as possible"

Have you checked out the cost of a MacPlus lately...? 
Every product goes through the FCC test...  or is there a 
conspiracy against ATARI..?

I used to tell my students that they were far better off
buying an ST than putting cash into a Mac.  I caught myself
last night when a student was going out the door...
I couldn't HONESTLY tell them this anymore.

>policy.  The end result: America doesn't get many computers from Atari.
>
>--
>Joachim


And many who own ATARI's are selling them and buying into other
systems.

-kevin
ramsiri@blake.acs.washington.edu