dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt) (08/20/88)
I had a brief conversation this afternoon with Kathleen Warnock of
Asher Engineering, concerning Asher's Turbo Trackball. Three
significant data:
1) She confirmed that some of the early trackballs did have a
"sticking" problem (the cursor wouldn't track). This was caused by
slippage between the trackball and the encoder shaft(s). The
problem has been fixed by the addition of a rubber coating to the
encoder shafts; any units which exhibit the problem will be
replaced by Asher Engineering under the lifetime warranty.
2) Very few full-service Mac dealers maintain a stock of the
trackballs; most dealers seem to order them from Asher in response
to specific customer requests. Asher would like to have more
dealers stock the trackballs, but hasn't been able to arrange it.
They have no outside sales force, and depend on a combination of
direct mail-order sales and a few large dealers (primarily
mail-order outfits such as M.A.C., MacConnection, MacWarehouse, and
Programs Plus).
3) Asher advertises a 30-day money-back guarantee on their trackball.
Purchasers should be aware that Asher provides this guarantee _only_
to people who buy the trackball directly from them ($99.00). Asher
does _not_ provide this guarantee to people who purchase the
trackball from a dealer; it's up to the dealer to decide whether
such a guarantee will be provided.
I suggested to Ms. Warnock that Asher's ads really should make this
distinction, as Asher is currently advertising the guarantee without
stating that it applies only to direct factory purchases and not to
units purchased through a dealer. She said that this issue "hasn't
been a problem."
Some dealers for the Asher trackball charge prices significantly less
than Asher's price (MacConnection wants $79, MacWarehouse and Programs
Plus want $69). However, these dealers may decline to accept returned
trackballs, or may charge a substantial restocking fee (Programs Plus
will accept merchandice "purchased in error" for a 20% fee).
Caveat emptor. I haven't bought a trackball yet, but I'll probably buy
one that the dealer has in stock and will let me play with for a couple
of hours. The Abaton and Kensington trackballs seem to be in plentiful
supply, so one of them likely to end up on my desk.
--
Dave Platt VOICE: (415) 493-8805
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