dons@killer.UUCP (Don Simoneaux) (11/14/87)
I missed previous discussion on this subject. I apoligize if I am rehashing old ground. Let me start by saying that I like Borland a lot and have bought many of their products. They are probably the best thing to happen for programmers (and others) since the spread of the IBM PC and clones. I have noticed some very encouraging things happening at MicroSoft as a result of the competition from Borland. But .... has anyone else noticed that Borland and MicroSoft marketing are moving toward one another?!? I too think that $40 is too much for an upgrade of a product that retails for $99. Even MicroSoft charges only $25, which I think is a reasonable price. Based on what most *good* companies (e.g., WordPerfect) charge, $25 seems like a fair price. Seems like I recall a Borland policy of $10 for an upgrade, or was that only for minor revs? -- Don Simoneaux Phone: (214) 964-1859 3605 Interlaken Dr. Plano, TX 75075 USENET: ...ihnp4!killer!dons
richardh@killer.UUCP (11/15/87)
In article <2092@killer.UUCP>, dons@killer.UUCP (Don Simoneaux) writes: > > I too think that $40 is too much for an upgrade of a product that > retails for $99. Even MicroSoft charges only $25, which I think is a > reasonable price. I realize that Microsoft MASM has a list price above $99, but it's not that much above it. My MASM upgrade cost me $40, which I had no problem justifying. I don't think Borland's upgrade price for TP 4.0 is out of line (unless it shows up in an ad for The PC Connection for the same price.) richard hargrove ...!ihnp4!killer!richardh -------------------------
dons@killer.UUCP (11/19/87)
In article <2095@killer.UUCP>, richardh@killer.UUCP (Richard Hargrove) writes: > In article <2092@killer.UUCP>, dons@killer.UUCP (Don Simoneaux) writes: > > > > I too think that $40 is too much for an upgrade of a product that > > retails for $99. Even MicroSoft charges only $25, which I think is a > > reasonable price. > > I realize that Microsoft MASM has a list price above $99, but it's not > that much above it. My MASM upgrade cost me $40, which I had no problem > justifying. I don't think Borland's upgrade price for TP 4.0 is out of > line (unless it shows up in an ad for The PC Connection for the same > price.) > Actually, MASM 5.0 lists for $150, so a $40 upgrade fee is 27%. The upgrade fee for WordPerfect 4.2 (from 4.1) is $45 on a package that lists for $495. WP sells on the street for about $200, but that still makes the upgrade fee about 23%. Following this line of reasoning, TP 4.0 upgrades should be about $25. After thinking about this some more (and having the opportunity over the weekend to talk face to face with a Borland marketeer), another thought occurred to me. Could it be that Borland has spoiled us with their low list prices, so that the relative cost of the upgrade seems high? Still, when I know that Soft Warehouse in Dallas will probably be selling TP 4.0 for $55, $40 for an upgrade seems high. But then it probably is of comparable worth to MASM. -- Don Simoneaux Phone: (214) 964-1859 3605 Interlaken Dr. Plano, TX 75075 USENET: ...ihnp4!killer!dons
brad@looking.UUCP (11/20/87)
In article <2140@killer.UUCP> dons@killer.UUCP (Don Simoneaux) writes: >Borland has spoiled us with their low list prices, so that the relative >cost of the upgrade seems high? Still, when I know that Soft Warehouse >in Dallas will probably be selling TP 4.0 for $55, $40 for an upgrade >seems high. But then it probably is of comparable worth to MASM. It's quite simple. A $99 product sells to a major distributor for $40. The upgrade is available only direct for Borland. Borland has (if you haven't noticed the prices of their other products) realized that they were crazy to sell things for $50 in the old days. With TP 4.0 it's even worse. How many *new* customers can they expect for this product? Turbo Pascal 2 & 3 sold so well because they got anybody remotely interested in Pascal to buy one. They got Microsoft to give up the race. The best they can do with non-customers is win over a few diehards who refused to use a Pascal without linking and a few other features. Being faster won't help, they already won over all the speed demons. So with TP 4.0, they're faced with getting few new customers. To make money, they have to make the same from an upgrade as they do from a retail sale. Somebody once told me that they thought Borland made money on cheap software because all the "real" customers (instead of the "I'll try it" customers) bought TP 1.0, TP 2.0, TP 3.0, TP toolbox, TP graphics, etc. etc. From the serious customers, they got as much money as the guy selling the $300 system. From the experimenter, they got money nobody else was getting. Nothing has changed, except the way it's being presented. -- Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473