🚀 go-pugleaf

wilde@tigger.Colorado.EDU (Nick Wilde) writes:

>In article <110@eclectic.COM> kovar@eclectic.COM (David C. Kovar) writes:
>>>
>>>I second that! Yes, these prices sorely tempt me to piracy.

>>  If you set your price low, like more than 20% lower than your competition,
>>many people will believe that your product is inferior simply due to the
>>fact that it costs significantly less than other products. "If it's that
>>cheap, there must be something wrong with it." So you'd pick up a few
>>more sales from people who can't afford any product in the price range,
>>but you'd lose a lot more sales from those people who can afford the
>>going prices.

>I'm really not picking on David here (I don't even know the man
>so why should I pick on him ?)  But this is an oft-repeated piece of
>wisdom for which I've seen suspiciousely little real data to back it
>up. 

   The one piece of software that doubled in price without much additions 
to it was Director.  MacroMind said (in MacWEEK I think) that people were 
not taking it seriously because it was only about $100.  So when it was 
renamed to Director (from whatever its former name was) it either doubled 
or tripled in price because that is what people "expected" to pay for a 
package like it. 

   Another popular myth going around is that "piracy" only occurs in homes 
because people can't afford the product.  I have read of many institutions 
where piracy is strictly forbidden by the upper management but the middle 
managers say we can't afford this or it takes to long to get, so get a copy 
and get the job done. 

   At NASA we opened a blanket purchase agreement with several mail order 
houses and a couple of local dealers so that when things are needed, the 
scientists or engineers can get the software over night.  I think that in 
many cases it isn't even the cost.  If you have to wait 3-4 months to get 
an application (or even an upgrade to one) who is going to bother! 
 
   As always, just my thoughts... 

hoepfner@heasfs.gsfc.nasa.gov 
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center