From: John Fields [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 12:05 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
...
> Interestingly, your proselytizing for the purpose of trying to
> recruit converts to your world ("If enough people do it it'll
> be OK") of piracy hardly smacks of anything but dumb greed on
> _your_ part, in that you don't want to pay for the value of
> what you want, you want to pay what _you_ want to pay and you
> want to be the arbiter of what a fair price is.
This line of reasoning reminds me of a fascinating public television
installment recently aired on FRONTLINE. I believe it was titled "Is WALL
MART GOOD FOR AMERICA?" This is pretty close to the line of reasoning WALL
MART's executives decided to pursue when they recently negotiated with their
major suppliers. The result has been that they occasionally have some of the
cheapest consumer products available, a point they make sure to advertise -
just enough target products to entice customers into the door. Then, they
use the bait and switch tactic to get you to purchase higher end products
that translate into higher profit margins for WALL MART. Meanwhile, several
highly respected American companies, like Rubbermaid which used to be a
major supplier to WALL MART (A company that was written up as one of the
most successful companies in the United States) was forced out of business
because WALL MART essentially _TOLD_ them what they would buy their products
for and not a penny more. Rubbermaid couldn't comply. They were forced out
of business as China became one of WALL MART's major suppliers of consumer
products. Meanwhile, Americans and American companies have been forced out
of business.
I suspect many may disagree in varying degrees with Leaking Pen's purchasing
philosophy. Never the less, I find myself strangely sympathetic to parts of
it.
> You make up excuses like, "They don't have any overhead so it's
> OK for me to rip them off" which seem appealing but are
> nonsensical in that it doesn't matter _what_ their overhead
> structure looks like, it's none of your business and neither
> are any of their other business practices. Bottom line is, the
> price of the software is the price of the software and if you
> don't like it, don't buy it.
>
>--
>John Fields
After watching the FRONTLINE show, my desire to "buy" anything at WALL MART
is practically nil.
Obviously, being able to sell products at cheaper prices than what is being
sold by all the competitors should eventually translate into higher
standards of living for all the consumers who purchased the items at the
cheaper price. The problem is, at what price and who ends up paying for it.
Should we be afraid of WALL MART and what it's doing to America? Not an easy
answer.
Regards,
Steven Vincent Johnson
www.OrionWorks.com
