>Some of our subscribers residing in Japan might have some more
>insight on why pricing is so high there, but I'm betting it's just
>total cost/small market size.
I lived in Japan for six years and been recently back to the U.S. The
general attitude among the Japanese seems to be that if the item doesn't
have a high cost, then it doesn't have a high, albeit perceived, value.
So they tend to pay it; they, almost gladly, 'dish out the cash' and the
sellers continue to charge however high a price they can get away with.
Although this was changing when I left, in some areas drastically, it
depends on a lot of factors: location (high realestate cost), the type of
business, etc.
I bought the 2400 (when I was in Japan) because not only of its size and
design, but also because the price had gone down relative to what
PowerBooks used to cost. And I believe this lower-cost factor also added
to its popularity in Japan. (...although its size has a lot to do with it
too.)
It may be that there's a market for a G3 upgrade card, but there's
another peculiarity of the Japanese mentality (which I was told came from
the aftermath of World War II): they tend to buy new things instead of
maintaining something old--in order to accelerate the rebuilding of
society. If you look at the automobiles in their streets, an old jalopy
is very rarely seen. It's a gov't policy: car is taxed not once when
bought, but every year (I had to pay $300 come every May). And the
bi-annual mandatory check-up can be $1,000, and as the car gets older the
higher the charge. So the incentive is to get new car, and this trickles
over to other items (not the law but the habit).
It'd be interesting if our Japanese 2400-owner counterpart voiced their
want, along with ours, for a G3 card, but they refused to pay anything
more than a certain amount. But then again, culture is culture and I
wouldn't want to be accused of ethnocentrism. ...but.. the Internet is
already affecting every culture in the world anyway ... right?
----------
Duo/2400 List, The friendliest place on the Net!
A listserv for users and fans of Mac subportables.
FAQ at <http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/DuoListFAQ.shtml>
Be sure to visit Mac2400! <http://www.sineware.com/mac2400>
X-Router | Share your DSL or cable modem between multiple computers!
Dr. Bott | <http://www.drbott.com/prod/MIH120.html>
PowerBook Guy is | Click here!
Everything PowerBook! | http://www.powerbookguy.com
Midwest Mac Parts ][ <http://www.midwestmac.com>
After-market parts for Macs. ][ 888-356-1104 ][
