IO91461@MAINE.BITNET (Tom Nezwek) (03/01/91)
I'm trying to purchase an A2630 under the Ed Discount. Well I called the
local dealer to have one ordered up. 5 days later I called back to inquire
as to its status.. The delaer said that Commodore won't send him a a2630 or
even give him a price until the educational department gets straitened out..
My dealer said that COMMODORE itself said that the ed list posted just
last week is invalid. And that a new list will be made in 2 weeks or so
once things are settled. Until then I just have to wait.. Or buy a a2630 at
full price.. C'mon Commodore, get things starighten out! I can't wait to
give you my money! (and get my a2630).
-Waiting for Commodore
-Tom Nezwekruslan@uncecs.edu (Robin C. LaPasha) (03/05/91)
I just talked to a guy in CBM (no names or departments, please.) I have some "official but anonymous" answers to some recent questions that are approaching FAQ status. Question #1: Why the heck hasn't somebody official at Commodore been posting the new price lists? Answer #1: Commodore is not only on Usenet, a more or less non-commercial net, but they're also EDUCOM "corporate associates" (CAPs?.. something like that.) EDUCOM has mucho-strict non-commercial rules. It has been recently decided to keep to the hard line of NOT having official CBM folks posting commercial info to the net. Price lists are commercial info. So no go. That's the deal. Question #2: Are the prices changed yet? To what? How? Why? Answer #2: a) They've changed as of MARCH 1st (yes, really, March.) b) They're higher prices. There was a specific reason for this: the dealers were losing money on the program. Some had gone bankrupt, many were rebelling (and some were treating ed. customers as if... they were losing money on them.) The educational dealerships really were unprofitable. In order to keep the ed. program you gotta keep the dealers. So it's a little more bucks, giving the dealers a margin to keep them (in business and) happy about the ed. customers. At the new prices, all ed. sales are profitable. Question #3: Well, where the heck are we gonna get these prices? Answer #3: Assuming that you can't get this info at your dealer's (insert story here - you have difficult or long-distance dealer relations, etc. etc. ...) you can get the prices at least two ways: 1) Wait for someone outside Commodore to get a copy of the prices, type them in, and post them. Don't expect this 'til at least Thursday (i.e. 3/7/91 or so, depending on the US mail and typing speed...) 2) Call one of these regional numbers and request that the prices be sent to you: Eastern Regional Sales (Reston VA) - 703-709-0200 Central " " (Schaumburg IL) - 708-619-5959 Western " " (Long Beach CA) - 213-498-9455 You can also have your dealer call these numbers if they are unsure of the ed. prices and whatnot. Question #4: What else is there about the Ed. program now that's different? Answer #4: Mostly good news. ;^) As Ethan explained previously: a) Qrders are filled from dealer stock; you pay your dealer and you pay sales tax, then you take it home (assuming it's in stock.) b) New, simplified order forms (yay!); verification is a photocopy of ... your student ID, or anything else that reasonably shows you're currently enrolled. (No more blood pacts! No more crawling to the dean's office! Yay! ;^)) c) You get the new Honeywell-Bull within-24-hours service (already described thoroughly) like everybody else in warranty. d) Peripheral-only purchases are okay; you can buy "1 unit of each product per year" under the program. Yes, that really means that "product" _could_ be "model"... and not "cpu." (I asked.) Just ONE of anything/everything on the list, per year (i.e. if I got a 1950 monitor this month, I couldn't get another 1950 on the program 'til next year. But I could get the 2024 Hedley next month...hey, like, I can DREAM!!! ;^)) So for the higher prices - you get it NOW, you get a wider choice of what you can buy when, and the paperwork's easier. Disclaimers: This is direct info, though mostly not quotes (oh c'mon, you know they don't talk like this! ;^)) I don't work for them, they don't pay me, all that. So relax, chill out, enjoy. -- Robin LaPasha |Keeper of the Amiga ruslan@ecsvax.uncecs.edu |Hypermedia Mailing List