[comp.sys.next] NeXT price survey

isbell@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Art Isbell) (06/25/89)

Below is a summary of NeXT prices at several universities.  As you can see,
quite a variation exists.  Because I have the misfortune of being required to
purchase through the University of Colorado, which has NeXT prices at the top
of the range, I have been priced out of the NeXT market.  So much for the
NeXT goal of a system affordable to students..........

Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder

	basic system				7,385
		(cube with 8M RAM +
		 MegaPixel display +
		 keyboard + mouse +
		 flopty + software)

	scholar's system			9,659
		(basic + printer)

	advanced system				9,659
		(basic + 330M h.d.)

	developer's system			14,200
		(scholar's + 660M h.d.)

	server system				15,340
		(basic + 8M RAM + 660M h.d.)

	printer					2,275

	4M RAM					1,705

	330M h.d.				2,275

	660M h.d.				4,545

	These prices do not include sales tax, but do include shipping.

Organization: California Institute of Technology
 
	6.5%taxes+3% order fee

Organization: Princeton University, NJ

	about 5% markup

Subject: NeXT prices at Georgia Tech

	Georgia Tech and the rest of the Georgia public university system
	can only purchase NeXT products from Emory (private university)
	10%, then 5% sales tax and $30 shipping


Michigan State University has a very simple pricing policy for
	selling NeXT computers: Take the University cost of whatever system
	you want and add $325.  (Plus tax, of course.)


Organization: Harvard University, Cambridge MA

	I know that MIT has a 13% overhead


Below is the price list for NeXT systems at Carnegie Mellon.

	Pennsylvania sales tax (6%) will be collected on all individual sales.

    NeXT WORKSTATION ("Special Order" Only)
    Model N9001-08 (8MB mem., 256MB mag/opt)             6770.00*
    
    Model N9001-12 (12MB mem., 256MB mag/opt)    8330.00*
    Model N9001-16 (16MB mem., 256MB mag/opt)    9830.00*
    Model N9002-08 (8MB mem., 256MB mag/opt,
                                         330MB Hard Disk)        8855.00*
    Model N9002-12 (12MB mem., 256MB mag/opt,
                         330MB Hard Disk)            10415.00*
    Model N9002-16 (16MB mem., 256MB mag/opt,
                         330MB Hard Disk)            11975.00*
    Model N9003-08 (8MB mem., 256MB mag/opt,
                         660MB Hard Disk)            10940.00*
    Model N9003-12 (12MB mem., 256MB mag/opt,
                         660MB Hard Disk)            12500.00*
    Model N9003-16 (16MB mem., 256MB mag/opt,
                         660MB Hard Disk)            14060.00*
    Laser Printer (400 dpi)                                   2085.00
    Toner Cartridge (In Stock)                            110.00
       * Includes Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor (17", B/W, 4 Grayscales)

gillies@m.cs.uiuc.edu (06/27/89)

Re:  University markups on NeXT machines

Maybe this is a rather accurate measurement of the amount of
bloating/fat in the university administration?  8-)

george@eitri.cs.cornell.edu (George R. Boyce) (06/28/89)

I'm sure some people look at different markups and attribute it to bad
university policy or generic greed. But give the central computer
service organizations a break; they have to live within the funding
model of their particular university. Some have to recover all their
costs, some have to recover nothing, and some only have to recover
costs in sales areas, etc. So I don't think you can conclude anything
from a price survey. 

George, former central computer service employee

cbenda@unccvax.UUCP (carl m benda) (07/02/89)

Its interesting how the universities claim the added cost is due to the
support and set up of the NeXT itself.  Suppose I want to purchase a machine
free of support from the university.  Suppose I would agree to have NeXT drop
the machine of at my p.o. box at the University.  The machine should cost no
more than 6500 plus tax plus shipping.

Why is this NOT possible?

/Carl

p.s. if I want to purchase an on site service agreement/support agreement, then
that would be my option.

merlin@smu.uucp (David Hayes) (07/08/89)

Universities add something to the cost of a NeXT for service, maintenance,
and setup.  You can't have NeXT just send one to your dorm room, and set
it up yourself:

1.  NeXT won't sell you a machine.  They only sell them to Businessland,
	and universities who've signed a contract with NeXT.

2.  The terms of the NeXT contract for a university allow them to charge
	whatever they want for the box, but they are not permitted to
	sell it without support/maintenance.

bmartin@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Brian Martin) (07/15/89)

In article <1540@unccvax.UUCP> cbenda@unccvax.UUCP (carl m benda) writes:
>
>Its interesting how the universities claim the added cost is due to the
>support and set up of the NeXT itself.  Suppose I want to purchase a machine
>free of support from the university.  Suppose I would agree to have NeXT drop
>the machine of at my p.o. box at the University.  The machine should cost no
>more than 6500 plus tax plus shipping.
>
>Why is this NOT possible?

At least you have an option of actually purchasing one at an educational
discount. We can't.

From what I've been told, our computer center decided that they didn't have
the desire/expertise to support the NeXT, so wouldn't sign a purchase
agreement with NeXT. I suppose it's because they're too busy babysitting
all those IBM "mainframes" they've got 8-).

-- Brian

david@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (David Lassner) (07/18/89)

In article <4348@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> bmartin@uhccux.UUCP (Brian K. Martin, M.D.) writes:
>From what I've been told, our computer center decided that they didn't have
>the desire/expertise to support the NeXT, so wouldn't sign a purchase
>agreement with NeXT. I suppose it's because they're too busy babysitting
>all those IBM "mainframes" they've got 8-).
>-- Brian

	We've already contacted Brian Martin, but in case there are any
	other readers of this newsgroup at the University of Hawaii who
	missed out on the news, UH signed the purchase agreement with
	NeXT on May 15.  There's more information in the summer edition
	of the Computing Center newsletter or you're welcome to contact
	me directly.


-- 
David Lassner, University of Hawaii Computing Center
INTERNET: david@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu      BITNET: david@uhccux
Voice: 808/948-7351	FAX: 808/946-5848