Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #03523
To: JVernonM@aol.com, sbolt@xs4all.nl
From: Dennison dennlill@buffnet.net
Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 09:04:34 -0400
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: Evolution Comparison
Ok, first of all you guys, all of you guys, need to cool off a bit. It we
were arguing about feedback thats one thing. But we sound like die hard
fan's willing to kill over a technicality.
Anyway.
Dave's price for the Kit is reasonable. It may not seem so, but it is. First
of all, he's the only person that sells them. Which makes a difference, but
not too much. Second of all, one's displayed in Ian's personal web gallery.
(got ya there!) Durring the Los Alamos Build Fest, Los Alamos buy's plenty
of Walker Kit's from Dave. Educational places buy it from dave. People also
buy them from Dave. Think about it, how much tramua would a kit have saved
some people who are bedeviled by a microcore? In addition, Dave's kit is
actually Audience worthy. I can't say that about to many free form, home
made things. The kit and home grown are just two options, both educational
in their own ways, and both have their own merits.
Actually about the price markup, as some one stated in Dave's defence
before, MAIL order markup IS MURDER. Your suppose to have a minimum of like
200%. I belive this has to do with how accesable your product is. IE if
Dave's kit was sold at every wilson's farms, or at every grocery store
right where every kid in the world would see it, sure. The kit would cost
like 30 bucks.
Also R&D is pricey. As I've learned myself. When you opperate a buisness you
can't just 'breakeven'.
And some more stuff, but you know, if you don't want to buy it. Don't, and
hey, you can always build your own. Some incentive huh?
Dennison
>> At $300,- surely it can't be targeting the educational market?
>> It seems to be intended as a `collector's item'.
>>
>Agreed! Signed and all. Come on Dave, 300 bucks for two servos, a custom
PCB,
>and the components to make a microcore. It's no wonder I've never seen one
>displayed on a personal web gallery. We all know the cost of these
>components, we buy them retail and they come far shy of your kit price. You
>seem to be operating at a 3-400 percentage markup as near as I and my
>accountant can tell. In a monopoly, that could be considered gouging.
Walmart
>operates at a 50 percent markup. Most next level boutiques operate at a 100
>percent mark up because of higher overhead. I usually clear a 35 percent
mark
>up on my T's, but that's because the competition here is cutthroat and
>overhead is high. I know your grumbling, "Well, if you can do better...." I
>got big plans. Big plans. You argued once that the popper SHOULD be more
than
>Craig's Cybug because of quality. I don't buy it. The components of the two
>kits alone make the Cybug cost more to produce, yet it is comparable in
price
>and far more functional. Your not selling kits, your marketing Tildenesque.
>Or, perhaps I'm mistaken, and the heads your producing will be your own
>design and not yet another Tilden clone. As for the educational aspect,
don't
>you think more bright minds could be educated if the kits were more inline
>with the idea of affordability as well as quality? Isn't that at the core
of
>BEAM philosophy? Dave, you sell caps that cost less than 1.00 in quantity
for
>9.00. You sell motors that cost around 3.-5.00 a piece for 15.00. You can
>charge what ever you like and in the present monopoly, you'll probably get
>it. But the campers are grumbling, and not usually to your face. And keep
>your personal attacks off the list, I'm tired of hearing them.
>Jim
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