Nick "Weird huh?"

Ooooh... maybe something to do with Good ol' economics and Supply 'n Demand. - When Demand follows Price: Supply UP : Price Down; Demand Up: Price Up.

Nick, it's all about Profit - I'm not being reactionary or "anti" whatever. But, if more and more people are "buying" a product - in WHATEVER retail route/manner they do, download or box set - UP will go the price. IMHO a box set is less "appealing" to an individual if it means waiting for the delivery/post to arrive - "Hey guess what I can download it!" Yes - the days of "Why don't you download our product and save on all that expense of delivery - you know it makes sense!" are sliding away! - We're talking "bottom-line" here.

If I was in the shoes of a "Software Make And Create" business, I'd be doing the same - but these are only my opinions. Do you think that particular s/w house don't know of this Supply-Chain to Customer price difference? - Yeah right!

Here we go: -You've created a product - it's transferable over the Web; the product will have a Profit lifespan; you need to make HAy while the sun shines; more people vote for downloading rather than surface-mail delivery or retail Ye Olde PC Shoppe; you can "extend" the profit lifespan of the same product; your "Cost-To-Reach" ratio plummets dramatically; your overheads plummet; no packaging; no inventory of discs and manuals; no supply chain worries; no local supply chain retail issues and costs.... Oooh then you say to your investors "We can predict next year a profit increase of XX% on our previous year" - Investors are happy; share price goes up; more people buy those company's share; more capital to re-invest in R&D to create finer products; we benefit; we buy more of that company's products etc etc etc.....

Now, competition can be found in very strange places. . . .

It's not just making a better moustrap - it never was, well mostly it wasn't. But how you get your mousetrap to Market, how you support your users use of your Mousetrap (Forums are a neat added value chain item - ho ho!), leading your captured market into spending more by adding additional Functions to that original mousetrap (Ho HO HO - oooh I can see the shades and pennnies dropping!), how you get "partners" to work with you who make the springs on your mousetrap as "give-away" Spare springs with each new moustrap (s/w being given away free with a new hard disc - yes?) etc etc etc - how many times have you repaired the spring on a mousetrap? It doesn't matter, it s a feature OR a Customer/Profit Moment. AND it's something we would all do - "Oh yes please - a spare spring to go with this spanking new mousetrap - when all other moustrap suppliers don't OFFER this extra - must buy me one of them!" Yeah right! I've done it, I will still do it. And d'yer know what, I've learnt from these Economic/Profit Magicians and employ their tactics in selling what I do.

The other reasonm why a company puts a price up, is when it is just about to reach its profit plateau - and as sure as eggs are eggs, you need to get out of that market PDQ! And guess what- as if by magic - you have another product in the wings waiting to be launched! We've seen the nonsense over the DVD + or - stuff. We all said YEah - the first guy to link and produce a DVD burner that does + and - will make a killing. Guess what? read your pc mags . . . Philips, are doing it now! And gues what others will follow.

Thanks for making the observation - I needed a reason to discuss this AND with others.

"Weird huh?" - Nick Waddya fink now? Hey these are only my humble opinions and maybe s/w houses don't realise this and maybe pigs don't go to Heathrow Airport . . .

Hey who said it was all about video editing any way?

Best reagrds - even though you ARE going to thrash us in the remaining Ashes Tests -Your cricket team is THE best ever. In a hundred years time it will still be acknowleged as such.

Good on yer Cobber!

Grazie