🚀 go-pugleaf

friedman@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Noah Friedman) writes:

>In article <1993Jan2.215318.18942@husc3.harvard.edu> zeleny@husc10.harvard.edu (Michael Zeleny) writes:
>>FSF does not give away its CD-ROM or distribution tapes;
>>but up until this time, it has been able to explain charging for them
>>as "distribution fees"; with the introduction of the differential
>>pricing scheme for individuals and businesses, this explanation no
>>longer holds any water.

>Actually, our original plan was to charge $500 for the CD-ROM plain and
>simple.  But we realized that while this isn't unaffordable for most
>companies, it is for most individuals.  We decided we'd rather get a
>smaller amount from individuals than get nothing at all, so we chose to
>charge individuals a smaller amount, namely $100.  (We also changed the
>original $500 to $400 for businesses.)

>Lots of organizations charge different rates for their services depending
>on who you are. 

Sometimes businesses pay more, sometimes less. For instance, business
travelers pay far more for hotel rooms and air fare than normal people
who get 30-day advance tickets. Conversely, if you walk into a
hospital with cash you'll pay a lot more than an insurance company for
the same care, because you can't negotiate the same contract.

Also, one argument that hasn't been brought up is that businesses are
much worse about actually paying for something than individuals are.
Even if the person who ordered the software *wants* to pay for it,
there may be ten people between there and the actual person who mails
the check, each with the ability to screw things up, requiring long
hours on the phone to fix. If you can get away with it, charging
businesses double to make up for the additional collection difficulty
is probably a good idea.

				Peter Desnoyers
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