dmg@ssc-vax.UUCP (David Geary) (06/16/88)
I have seen many postings about mail-order run through this group.
Here's the bottom line:
1) Mail order is cheaper than your local dealer - sometimes
substantially so.
2) For 1) above, you pay the following price:
a) Expect to be lied to about:
1) Price.
2) Availability.
3) Time of delivery.
b) Expect them to screw up your Charge Card billing at least
once per transaction.
c) Expect them to be virtually impossible to get to over the
phone.
Final analysis:
if( advantages of 1) outweigh disadvantages of 2) )
Use Mail Order
else
GoTo Dealer
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~ "...You can't always get what you want..." ~
~ Rolling Stones ~
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--
***********************************************************
* David Geary, Boeing Aerospace Co., Seattle, WA *
* I disclaim all disclaimers.... *
***********************************************************gaspar@almsa-1.arpa (Al Gaspar) (06/17/88)
> I have seen many postings about mail-order run through this group. > > Here's the bottom line: > > 1) Mail order is cheaper than your local dealer - sometimes > substantially so. There is also selection to be considered. Some people may have an Amiga dealer near them with hundreds of software titles and dozens of third party peripherals and add ons, but I sure don't. The only way I can get most packages is to order them by mail. Around here anyway the software stores such as Babbages, Software to Go, and Egghead Software either no longer carry Amiga software or never did (Egghead). (My wife wonders, what kind of computer is this that nobody carries ANYTHING for). The Amiga dealers are more interested in selling hardware than software, and their shelves show it. The same problems exist, though, for hardware. If I want a memory expansion from someone other than Commodore or I want a hard disk, I have to go mailorder to get any kind of decent selection. The local dealers tend to only carry one brand of any hardware item other than printers; so, its luck if they happen to carry the brand and model that I want. (This, of course, really isn't the dealers' fault; high volume begets selection, and they don't have high volume.) > > 2) For 1) above, you pay the following price: > > a) Expect to be lied to about: > > 1) Price. > 2) Availability. > 3) Time of delivery. I just ordered a software package from Go Amigo and had no problems with any of the above items. I realize that other people have not been so fortunate, but neither do I think that my case is unique. My dealer did not have the package at all! > b) Expect them to screw up your Charge Card billing at least > once per transaction. I don't know about this yet :-). > c) Expect them to be virtually impossible to get to over the > phone. I called two companies before placing my order and had no trouble getting through. > Final analysis: > > if( advantages of 1) outweigh disadvantages of 2) ) > Use Mail Order > else > GoTo Dealer if ((only want games) && (don't care about selection)) dealer(); if (you really want a specific product) mailorder(); Seriously, there are times that I would be happy to pay a few extra bucks and buy from a dealer. It is kind of nice to look at a package before you buy it (even if all you can look at is the cover :-). However, when they don't even carry the product, the point is moot. Cheers-- Al -- Al Gaspar <gaspar@almsa-1.arpa> USAMC CSDA, ATTN: AMXAL-OW, Box 1578, St. Louis, MO 63188-1578 COMMERCIAL: (314) 263-5118 AUTOVON: 693-5118 uunet.uu.net!almsa-1.arpa!gaspar
elg@killer.UUCP (Eric Green) (06/20/88)
in article <2009@ssc-vax.UUCP>, dmg@ssc-vax.UUCP (David Geary) says: > Final analysis: > > if( advantages of 1) outweigh disadvantages of 2) ) > Use Mail Order > else > GoTo Dealer Note that a large number of people do not have the option of GoTo Dealer, simply because there isn't a whole helluva lot of Amiga dealers out there. In general, unless you live in a moderately sized urban area (population > 100,000), you have no choice but mail order. For example, there's only three cities here in the state of Louisiana that could be considered "moderately sized", the biggest of which is New Orleans with 500,000 people. There ARE a few Amiga dealers in smaller cities, of course, but not in most of them. -- Eric Lee Green ..!{ames,decwrl,mit-eddie,osu-cis}!killer!elg Snail Mail P.O. Box 92191 Lafayette, LA 70509 "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?"
mclek@dcatla.UUCP (Larry E. Kollar) (06/21/88)
In article <3039@louie.udel.EDU> gaspar@almsa-1.arpa (Al Gaspar) writes: > > ....Some people may have > an Amiga dealer near them with hundreds of software titles and > dozens of third party peripherals and add ons, but I sure don't. Doesn't sound like you have a decent dealer in your area. The one I frequent orders anything he doesn't have in stock, and discounts the prices somewhat. Most of his Amiga selection is actually software; his hardware selection consists of the 500 & 2000, a 512K board for the 500, add-on floppies, and the Bridge card. However, he can and will order anything else (and it usually arrives within two days due to dealing with large distributors). People, I hear you complaining about the great dearth of selection of Amiga products at local dealers. Most of you mail-order *everything*; thus, the dealers see no demand for Amiga products. So they don't carry them, and the cycle repeats itself. It's the same way everywhere I've been. This is something I can see local user groups doing for the community: invite the local dealers to a meeting some time, and SHOW them how many potential customers they have! This cuts both ways, of course: if they start carrying products, someone has to buy them. Many dealers give price breaks to members of user groups -- an incentive to get people to join. Sure, dealers can be bozos -- but they can smell money to be made (or lost). They tend not to take chances cheating people when they can lose 80 customers real quick. Larry Kollar ...!gatech!dcatla!mclek