wagner@utcs.UUCP (11/29/86)
I called my local dealer today, and he told me that, as of yesterday, Computerland doesn't handle Amigas any more. Not here in Canada, not in the states; nowhere. The reason given by headquarters is that the price of the Amiga has dropped too low. Does anyone know any more about this? Can anyone make any sense out of the reason? Michael Wagner (wagner@utcs)
ins_adjb@jhunix.UUCP (Daniel Jay Barrett) (11/30/86)
In related news... on my last visit to a General Computer Store, I was told that they are dropping the "entire Amiga line". The reason is that there is "no software available". The salesman did not even know that the Amiga is multi-tasking! When I demonstrated it for him, having multiple windows open, he said "Well, the Macintosh does that too." (SHEEEEESH!!!) -- Dan
lachac@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU (Gerard Lachac) (12/01/86)
In article <4045@jhunix.UUCP> ins_adjb@jhunix.UUCP (Daniel Jay Barrett) writes: > The salesman did not even know that the Amiga is multi-tasking! >When I demonstrated it for him, having multiple windows open, he said >"Well, the Macintosh does that too." (SHEEEEESH!!!) > -- Dan This seems to be the norm in most "business" computer stores I've been to. Hell, one place I had to show them where to plug in the mouse on there new Apple IIgs. It seems many of these sales people know a couple of "neat" demos so they can sell to the uneducated buyer. A side note: People complain about the electronic/game store selling computers. These people hire a lot of the teen crowd, the "hacker" who actually KNOW what they're talking about... Just a thought... lachac@topaz.rutgers.edu
ed@plx.UUCP (Ed Chaban) (12/02/86)
> > In related news... on my last visit to a General Computer Store, > I was told that they are dropping the "entire Amiga line". The reason > is that there is "no software available". > > The salesman did not even know that the Amiga is multi-tasking! > When I demonstrated it for him, having multiple windows open, he said > "Well, the Macintosh does that too." (SHEEEEESH!!!) > > -- Dan Just goes to show 'ya. Everybody still think I'm crazy? The marketplace is not sophisticated enough to appreciate multitasking and Bit-Blitters etc. They want software. Wake up Commodore! Port EXCEL and Pagemaker to the Amiga NOW!! ======================================================================== _____O_____ Ed Chaban /___________\ Plexus Computers Inc. | _ | _ | Phone: (408) 843-2226 | |_| | |_| | Net: sun!plx!ed | _ | _ | | |_| | |_| | | _ | _ | | |_| | |_| | "Have a Jelly Baby?" | | | -The Doctor |_____|_____| *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
dickey@ssc-vax.UUCP (Frederick J Dickey) (12/03/86)
> > I called my local dealer today, and he told me that, as of yesterday, > Computerland doesn't handle Amigas any more. Not here in Canada, not > in the states; nowhere. > > The reason given by headquarters is that the price of the Amiga has > dropped too low. > > Does anyone know any more about this? Can anyone make any sense out > of the reason? > > Michael Wagner (wagner@utcs) This reply is purely speculative. I recollect reading somewhere that most computer stores feel that the price of a computer should be at least $2000. Apparently this has something to do with the profit margin. A dealer wants to get at least $x profit per computer sold. I remember when I read the article I realized that there were a lot of "home computers" in the less than $1000 range and a lot of "personal computers" in the more than $2000 range but nothing in the $1000 to $2000 range. K-Mart handles the cheapies and computer stores handle the more expensive ones. There don't seem to be any retail stores geared for the middle range. I felt this was a shame since the $1000 to $2000 range seemed about the right price range for a decent computer. Perhaps marketing types understand this better. Fred Dickey
kenneth@ukecc.UUCP (Kenneth Herron) (12/04/86)
>The reason given by headquarters is that the price of the Amiga has >dropped too low. > >Does anyone know any more about this? Can anyone make any sense out >of the reason? How about "The profit margin has dropped too low"? or "No high-price mystique ( = the salesmen have to know what they're talking about)"? Nahh, probably just means "It isn't IBM-compatible"... -- Kenneth Herron ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ USENET: ...!cbosgd!ukma!ukecc!kenneth ~~ ~~ CSNET : kenneth@ecc.engr.uky.csnet ~~ ~~These opinions are my own; no individual, college, or other ~~ ~~organization I am associated with has the slightest interest in them. ~~ ~~ "What, behind the rabbit?" "It is the rabbit!" ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
sean@ukma.ms.uky.csnet (Sean Casey) (12/05/86)
In article <336@plx.UUCP> ed@plx.UUCP (Ed Chaban) writes: >Just goes to show 'ya. Everybody still think I'm crazy? >The marketplace is not sophisticated enough to appreciate multitasking >and Bit-Blitters etc. They want software. I think that everyone who owns an Amiga knows it's potential. Just give it time. The Mac didn't have much software when it came out either. I'm buying an Amiga, my first personal computer, after 8 years of being intensively involved with them. It probably means nothing to most of you, but several friends of mine are seriously revising their opinions of the machine because of my decision. I think you'll see more and more of the packages that run on the Mac being ported to the Amiga. With time, this will be the source for a large base of software for the Amiga. This, combined with it's low price, will make sales take off. Sean -- =========================================================================== Sean Casey UUCP: cbosgd!ukma!sean CSNET: sean@ms.uky.csnet ARPA: ukma!sean@anl-mcs.arpa BITNET: sean@UKMA.BITNET
grr@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (George Robbins) (12/05/86)
In article <1986Nov29.125248.15249@utcs.uucp> wagner@utcs.uucp (Michael Wagner) writes: > >I called my local dealer today, and he told me that, as of yesterday, >Computerland doesn't handle Amigas any more. Not here in Canada, not >in the states; nowhere. > >The reason given by headquarters is that the price of the Amiga has >dropped too low. > >Does anyone know any more about this? Can anyone make any sense out >of the reason? > >Michael Wagner (wagner@utcs) It should be pointed out that Computerland has never carried the Amiga in the US. A chain like Computerland tends to keep a pretty narrow focus, so maybe they just couldn't fit something as radical as the Amiga into their IBM/clone/Apple view of the world... -- George Robbins - now working for, uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr but no way officially representing arpa: cbmvax!grr@seismo.css.GOV Commodore, Engineering Department fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)
chapman@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Brent Chapman) (12/05/86)
In article <1056@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins) writes: >It should be pointed out that Computerland has never carried the Amiga >in the US. A chain like Computerland tends to keep a pretty narrow >focus, so maybe they just couldn't fit something as radical as the Amiga >into their IBM/clone/Apple view of the world... I'm sorry, but you're definitely wrong. Perhaps Computerland _as_a_chain_ has never officially carried the Amiga, but individual Computerland stores certainly have (does anyone know if the stores are centrally owned, or franchised, or a combination, or what?). I was looking at the Amiga in the Lafayette (CA) Computerland one day while waiting to pick up one of our PC's they were repairing, back before I had my own, and chuckling because I knew I was going to get mine for a significantly lower price from another source (Winner's Circle, in Berkeley). Brent -- Brent Chapman chapman@eris.berkeley.edu or ucbvax!eris!chapman
wagner@utcs.uucp (12/05/86)
I'll probably comment some more on this later on, but I thought I'd just make one comment here. Computerland is selling off their stock of Amigas at the 'World of Commodore' show at the International Center here in Toronto. Show goes on until Sunday. $1770 or so Canadian for an Amiga, Monitor, Ram expansion (and perhaps more, I can't remember). I'm not likely to buy another Amiga, but it might be a good price for people just looking to get into Amigas (it's an amazing price compared to what I paid a year ago, but then, I got a year of use out of it). More on the show in a later posting (I have to get to work some time today!). Michael Wagner (wagner@utcs)
wagner@utcs.UUCP (12/05/86)
In article <862@ukecc.UUCP> kenneth@ukecc.UUCP (Kenneth Herron) writes: >Nahh, probably just means "It isn't IBM-compatible"... This is part of what kills me about the whole thing. The timing is all wrong. I just recently saw my first sidecar at a Computerland dealership. They finally were going to be IBM compatible! Michael
eugen@clan.UUCP (Eugen Bacic) (12/05/86)
I contacted our ComputerLand dealer here in Ottawa and they said that it wasn't true. At the moment it seems that the Amiga prices have dropped just before Christmas to allow for a big push in sales. Other rumors are that the new Amiga is due out after Christmas and will then occupy the current Amiga's price range thus permanently lowering the A1000's price. The major ComputerLand dealer (I spoke with head of sales) says that the Amiga is selling fine and that they have "no intention of dropping the Amiga line." However, they have "dropped prices to $1995 for the 256k Amiga with monitor to compete with the other retail computer stores in the Ottawa area." So, don't believe everything you hear. Or, do as I did, check into it... Eugen Bacic Carleton University Honeywell CP-6 Mail: Eugen Bacic @CU uucp: nrcaer!clan!eugen bitnet: EMBacic@Carleton.BitNet ean: eugen@clan
ee162faq@sdcc7.ucsd.EDU (JOHN SCHULTZ) (12/06/86)
Computerland *never* (?|!) carried the Amiga in the US? weird. i must have been in the twilight zone when I traded 2500 dolares por mi Amiga en La Computadora Lando en La Jolla Ca. Juan
kim@amdahl.UUCP (Kim DeVaughn) (12/08/86)
> It should be pointed out that Computerland has never carried the Amiga > in the US. > > George Robbins Uh, sorry George ... the Computerland franchises here in Silicon Valley have been selling Amigas since their introduction. That's where I got mine in late October of 1985. I imagine the decision to carry Amigas (or not) is left up to the franchise holders, or some such. BTW, recently, a local (non-chain) dealer that was carrying Amigas, STs, Macs, and PCs/PClones *has* decided to drop STs! /kim -- UUCP: {sun,decwrl,hplabs,pyramid,ihnp4,seismo,oliveb}!amdahl!kim DDD: 408-746-8462 USPS: Amdahl Corp. M/S 249, 1250 E. Arques Av, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CIS: 76535,25 [ Any thoughts or opinions which may or may not have been expressed ] [ herein are my own. They are not necessarily those of my employer. ]
grr@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (George Robbins) (12/10/86)
In article <1830@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> chapman@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Brent Chapman) writes: >In article <1056@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins) writes: >>It should be pointed out that Computerland has never carried the Amiga >>in the US. > >I'm sorry, but you're definitely wrong. Perhaps Computerland _as_a_chain_ >has never officially carried the Amiga, but individual Computerland stores >certainly have (does anyone know if the stores are centrally owned, or >franchised, or a combination, or what?). > >Brent Boy, Did I walk into this one... Yes, I really meant that Computerland as a whole has never carried the Amiga in the US. Individual franchises have some discretion to carry what they wish, however they aren't able to take advantage of the national purchasing power of the chain. This, combined with the high overhead, franchise fees and whatnot, make it diffuclt to offer competitive retail prices. Personally, I don't have much use for a computer store that doesn't keep evening hours...(your timezones and computerlands may differ $-). -- George Robbins - now working for, uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr but no way officially representing arpa: cbmvax!grr@seismo.css.GOV Commodore, Engineering Department fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)