[Logic] Re:Buckmaster callbook web site

[Bud Hippisley, K2KIR]

One reflectorite's response to Dan Bateman:

At 04:16 PM 2003-07-15, Dan Bateman of Buckmaster wrote:
>even though we enjoy our work on HamCall and would like to be able to do it for free, it is our means of support and we can't afford to give it all away for free....

No argument there.

> For $80 you can get a CD with a password good for a full year of lookups.

If I evaluate "hours of use per year" against price for the many excellent pieces of software and other goods and services I procure and use in the course of a year, I conclude that $80 for an annual call sign lookup subscription is more than I can justify.  In terms of function performed, compare $80 for a Buckmaster CD to the price of a new copy of Windows 98SE, or a decent ink jet printer, or even the price of a new PC from Circuit City.  $80 is nearly four full months of telco dial tone and unlimited local calling for my home phone, or nine months of dial-up internet access from my local ISP.   For those of us on relatively fixed incomes, there's a limit to the number of $80 chunks we can lay out in a year.  Heck, compare $80 to the cost of LOGic itself, but recognize that call sign lookup is only a sub-function of the total logging experience.  And unlike LOGic, or Win98SE, or the PC or the printer, $80 to Buckmaster is a recurring annual charge.  

>  In the future we may offer an Internet-only subscription for a lower price if the interest is sufficient.

Dan's on the right track. 

I commend Dan and Buckmaster for their suggestions, and encourage them to work with Dennis and other logging software suppliers to arrive at an appropriate solution.   My main concern is the price -- in a free market, cost-based pricing has to yield to other models, such as utility-based pricing.  I'd be interested in what the marketing folks at Buckmaster think the price elasticity of the call sign lookup market is.  I know where the "buy / no buy" threshold comes out for me, and it isn't $80 a year.
   
Bud, K2KIR