On Sep 7, 2004, at 6:20 PM, Judy Perry wrote:
I'm not sure I'd consider it unreasonable so much as unprofitable, at least in the near term. I used to own a development tools company, so I have a bit of background here. When anyone thinks he or she has a legitimate reason to request a reduced price -- and I've heard some whoppers over the years! -- they ask for it. I spent way too much time discussing and negotiating these things.On Tue, 7 Sep 2004, Dan Shafer wrote:
3. Educators often (not always) feel they are on a sort of "mission" that "entitles" them to reduced pricing and liberal licensing enforcement. And some educators who wouldn't say that *would* argue that their budgets are small and they can't afford to pay standard rates for software, particularly development tools.
--Do you argue that this is an unreasonable position? If I were working
in a SW development house, would I be expected to buy my own dev tools?
Ever since Rev announced the first HC cross-grade pricing, I've paid for
my annual license despite the fact that I don't sell a dime's worth of
software, only use it in-class, and am not reimbursed by my department.
I don't expect Rev to give it to me free, but given that I am doing free
evangelization for their product and am not making any profit from using
their product, a price reduction strikes me as not unreasonable.
The problem, I submit, is with the fact that dedicated educators can't get their schools to buy the right stuff because those schools are spending way too much money on overpriced textbooks and top-heavy administrative groups.
Furthermore, I have a few friends who are professors and in their more lucid moments, they freely admit that the grants they get for specific kinds of research can pay for LOTS of expensive tools. They beg for table scraps not because they need them but because that saves them money to buy other tools whose publishers won't cave on the educational discount front.
You know, as I reflect on all this, I think the bottom line is simple. Education is a very specialized market with very specialized needs, demands, and expectations. Companies that focus their marketing energies there might do well. Big companies who can focus budget there might do well. Small companies who are not focused exclusively or nearly so on education get eaten alive more often than they succeed.
<snip>
The good news (for folks in the education space at least) is that I don't get a vote.
--I suspect your vote carries the same or more weight than does mine ;-)
Sadly true.
Judy
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