elmer@foobar.uucp (11/28/90)
In article <2952@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu> rbd@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu (roger davis) writes: > >chase@ee.princeton.edu (Chris Chase @ Princeton University) writes: > >> These prices are as low or lower >> than most academic prices I have seen (and some universities like Princeton >> add a %10 handling fee in addition to sales tax). >> Mac Classic $699 >> Mac Lc (2meg) $1499 >> Mac SE/30 $2299 >> Mac IIsi $2299 >> Mac IIci $3399 >> Mac IIfx $5699 >> Mac Portable $3199 Some things to be aware of when responding to ads, in person or otherwise: This is what I would tell my salespeople if I were in the cutthroat low-end box-pushing Mac business (ie, the apple channel): Customer A calls and inquires about the $699 Classic. Tell him that you cannot possibly configure a system for him on the phone, and that you will be happy to talk to him when he can come on in. When he walks in, do not mention the $699 ad, but try and sell him a "usable" Classic, that is a 2/40 config. Most people cannot tell the difference between original Apple drives and memory and 3rd party, so configure with 3rd party and increase your margin. Of course, do not misrepresent the internal disk and memory as Apple equipment. That would be lying. Besides, everyone knows that all 3rd party formating and partitioning software sold with drives is superior to HDSetup, right? Even if not, since the 3rd party drive comes pre-formatted, the customer will never need partitioning software, so he shouldn't be bothered with such details. If customer A waves the $699 ad, and waves $699 in cash and insists on a naked, unusable Classic, Take the $699 order, tell the mark (er, customer) three weeks delivery. In 2 weeks 3 days, call customer A and mention that there will be another slight delay. In the meantime, give customer B (who ordered a classic 2/40 for $1500) the naked classic that did come in along with a rodime 40 meg HD and a third party memory expansion, or even Apple's if that's all you can get. Oh, Customer A? well, he can always come back down and retrieve his deposit (it was cash, remember) that we have had the use of for three weeks. We can't possibly stay in business selling Apple equipt. below cost... Please note that I am in no way implying that any particular Apple dealer would or even does employ any or all of these tactics. Rather, this was a hypothetical "dealer from hell" scenario designed to outline shady business practices that may have been employed in the computer (and other) industries. Comments are welcome. Please post (not email) so everyone can benefit. --