🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Aug12.015856.13142@fsg.com> chuck@fsg.com (Chuck Yerkes)  
writes:
> 
> Having followed this thread for a while, I must comment on some things.
> I'm going to extrapolate a bit to all computer systems instead of just next.
[some stuff deleted]
>    Quicken, at $60, is RARELY pirated.  You can run a small business on
> it and it compares favorably with packages costing $500 or more.  Its
> sold gazillions of copies.

But don't forget market share, you can truly sell "gazillions" of Quicken
because there are gazillions^10 possible customers.   If EVERY NeXT owner  
bought (or could buy) Quicken  your total sales would be about 2 million gross.
(40,000 * $50) most likey you would be lucky to get 10% so $200,000.   Now they  
would be HAPPY to NET 30% (after taxes and rent and programmers and 50%  
discount to resalers) so they would be lucky to make $60,000.

I realize that I'm playing fast and loose with the numbers, but I think you get  
my point.   It's no wonder that Quicken sold on the NEXT would sell for at  
least $300.00.

For example we sell our Serial objects for $50.00 ( $80 after Sept 1). They are  
NOT the profit center of our company by any means.  (Consulting is).   Why did  
we price our objects at $50.00 instead of $700.00 like the "other" folks?     
Simply because we felt that these kinds of tools SHOULD be priced at that level  
and that other (small) developers would "impluse" buy objects at that price  
rather than write them for themselves since $50.00 of a developers time is  
about 45mins these days.   This has proven to be true.

I bet that Glenn's pricing of "Rulers" falls into the "loss leader" catagory of  
sales, and they hope you'll pick up some "type faces" or "paste up" while your  
there..

It is not always greed that sets the pricing of software.   The reason that  
some of the software on the NeXT has PC pricing reflects 

1.	Small developers have lower over head so they can sell cheaper.

2.	Making the NeXT succeed is a religious issue with us zealots
	and the pricing of the software reflects that desire.




[deleted]
> chuck
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> chuck yerkes, fusion systems group    (chuck@fsg.com)
> 
> "The opinions here are mine, not my 
>  company's and not necessarily right."

Chuck Bennett
BenaTong
-- 
Chuck Bennett, BenaTong Consulting
Palace Security (UNIX Consulting :-) )
cgb@count0.cmhnet.org