This is already done. 10 @ 3.99 USD would be 39.99 USD. However if you added
10 of the discounted variety it ends up being just 19.99 USD. That's half the
price @ 1.99 / sticker. At 100 of them it's just 0.83 USD a sticker.
This is the case and the pricing for all the case badges as well. The main
thing with the 3.99 USD price tag is the labor. Not to mention if there was a
lower markup on the price there may never be a break even point. Also having
a lower sticker price for larger quantities makes it easy for other
organizations to potentially pick them up for promotional purposes. For
instance handing them to members of a GLUG (GNU/Linux User Group), an install
fest, and other free software events. And actually we donate stuff like
this. I'd like to see them offered for sale by groups though rather than
given away. The prices are not unreasonable for the majority of users. That
is to say there more than capable of sparing a few dollars. I apologize for
those who aren't in a position to afford one. Maybe we will offer a
discounted pricing to certain regions at some point.
A mark up of 10x the cost on a small item like this is pretty normal at
retail and at $3.99 this is much lower than that. That isn't profit really.
It's just margin. There are other costs that can't be easily assessed (thins
like promotion- brochures for instance, transportation, etc). In larger
quantities it's not an issue which is why a company targeting the masses
(online) which operates out of an inexpensive area can charge a fraction of
the price.
I think ultimately we have done a good job of keeping prices in perspective
all things considered. The computers can be purchased without much mark up
which brings them in line at what one might see at retail. At the same time
if you upgrade it significantly there is a decent profit margin. The other
items are less expensive so there shouldn't be too much issue affording them.
This is the majority here and not the minority though. I think many people
are still going to find it hard to afford even if the prices were dropped to
the actual cost (not including other related costs even).
