VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Accessories (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=3)
-- dumb question re Handspring's stylus business model (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=3277)

I don't know if this has been discussed already. If so, my apologies.

It occurred to me on my drive home today that Handpring could have made lots more money if they just included the nice stylus (ala 5-pack) with the Visor. If they're charging $15.95 for five, couldn't they have given us ONE stylus with our order and jacked up the price of the package by $5 (i.e., $254)? That would have given them $1.81 per stylus more in revenue than what they're getting currently with 5-pack sales. And keep in mind they're getting their $3.19/stylus only from people who purchase the pack. If they chose the model I'm suggesting, they would have received $5 for every stylus "sold." They're scheme seems not only senseless from a profit-centric perspective, but also counter to the customers' interests.

Can anyone explain how I'm an idiot, from Handspring's point of view?

[This message has been edited by ragamuffinn (edited 12-02-1999).]

I think keeping the price under the $250 mark for the VDx was psychologically important from a marketing point of view, so they had to cut corners somewhere. $149 and $249 sound sexier than $154 and $254.