From: wyattw@loowit.wr.tek.com (Wyatt Webb;6291592;92-835)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Apple's New Prices
Date: 20 Aug 92 16:22:55 GMT
	<stricher-200892090928@stayman.ocean.fsu.edu>
Followup-To: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Organization: Tektronix - Instrument Controllers and Software
In-reply-to: stricher@masig.fsu.edu's message of 20 Aug 92 13:08:21 GMT

In article <stricher-200892090928@stayman.ocean.fsu.edu> stricher@masig.fsu.edu (Char Aznabul) writes:

   In article <1992Aug19.223839.19539@athena.mit.edu>, sullivan@athena.mit.edu
   (Jason R Sullivan) wrote:
   > 
   > My new school price list shows the price of the Quadra 950 increasing
   > from $5155 to $5710.  Can anyone confirm this!  And if so, why?

   Uh, how's this math: Apple<>MIT ??? Like most resellers, the final 
   price is up to the seller, not Apple. It may be Apple's doing, but
   I would suspect MIT first. 

   James


I can confirm this.  Having attended MIT for four years and working in
the IS department (of which the computer store is a branch), I've had
the unfortunate experience of arguing with them over prices, support,
etc.  Since I'm no longer employed there (I graduated, yea!!) I can
complain.  Their prices were flakey at best.  They tended to bounce
around every few months with no corresponding signals from Apple or the
rest of the industry.

My pet peeve about the MIT Computer Connection (yes, that's its name!)
is that they seem greedy to me.  They rarely have stripped down Macs in
stock so knowledgable students (like myself) could add peripherals for
less than Apple (or the store) charges.  I ended up waiting an extra
month for my IIci because they preferred to order the 5/80 configuration
before the 5/0.  And I wasn't about to pay $550 for an 80 meg HD.  
Another example of their money grubbing was apparent when the
salespeople would commonly slander or ignore any third party software or
hardware that they didn't sell.  I remember overhearing one fellow tell
a rather unknowledgable user-to-be that "Sure, the DeskWriter may _seem_
nicer than a StyleWriter, but it's been known to blow up logic boards
and you would be responsible for replacement cost...  Is it really worth
it?"  I about flipped!!  Often customers would call the MIT HelpLine
(the micro support phone number on campus where I worked) and ask about
third party memory, printers, monitors and software.  When we gave them
the objective run-down a common response was "Well, why didn't the MCC
just tell me that.  They said there was nothing else!"

This is still going on today...

The bottom line is "buyer beware".  The educational reseller may have
the best prices, but everything else is questionable.  It helps to be an
educated buyer in any situation, but especially here...

<flame off>

later,

	-Wyatt


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