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Date:      Thu, 16 Dec 1999 14:29:15 -0800
From:      "Jordan K. Hubbard" <jkh@zippy.cdrom.com>
To:        dwilde1@thuntek.net
Cc:        Pat Lynch <lynch@bsdunix.net>, freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: The Bazaar part II 
Message-ID:  <63651.945383355@zippy.cdrom.com>
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Thu, 16 Dec 1999 07:10:12 MST." <3858F2C4.57480E83@thuntek.net> 

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> it's a great marketdroid-type decision to take freeware and print the
> manuals and package it in a box. DO NOT bundle them together, the idea
> is for people to see that there's STUFF TO BUY for FreeBSD. I think the
> Power Pak is actually a mistake, it would be better to split out the
> components as separate products.

Heh, unfortunately, this is engineer-thinking rather than channel
sales thinking. :) First off, the components are available split off
as separate products and have been for far longer than the PowerPak
has been a discrete product.  The Pak was created due to retailer
demand, who didn't *want* a whole bunch of $39.95 products (on which
they make little) on the shelves and taking up valuable shelf space.
They wanted something more compact and priced up around $59.00 and so
that's what they got.  You don't dictate terms to the channel, it
dictates terms to you and you better listen or you don't get to stay
in there very long. :-)

> shelves. It seems that part of the reason Linux has taken off at escape
> velocity is that there's lots of stuff to buy, and the impulse to pull

And the retailers hate this, the only thing keeping them stocking all
those diverse products is the fact that the products are all in
competition with one another and there's no *hope* of consolidation.
The size of the Linux market means the retailers have to still devote
the shelf space, but they don't have to be happy about it.  We,
unfortunately, are too small to get away with that kind of
behavior. :)

Not to say that retailers wouldn't mind more products in the FreeBSD
line, they just want them to cost more than $50.  This means creating
bundles of some sort since raising the price of the base product would
suck rocks and everyone here would agree.

- Jordan


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