Mail Archives: djgpp/1998/01/04/16:17:54
On 03 Jan 1998 18:23:29 -0500, Frank Sweetser <rasmusin AT WPI DOT EDU> posted:
>Jeff Weeks <pweeks AT execulink DOT com> writes:
>> I'm a young software developer that's trying to set up a web site and a
>> small business. My problem? I have no means of distributing my
>> software or accepting money over the internet.
>>
>> I'm wondering if anybody can recommend a software distributor (or
>> alternative solution) to me. My current work has not yet been released,
>> but I intend to work mostly under Linux, with perhaps some DOS and
>> Windows ports.
>
>for the linux ports, try talking to redhat. they're pretty good about
>releasing commercial software. you may also have some luck with caldera,
>but they're quite a bit bigger and more commercial.
Or one could check with "secondary" distributors like the "Linux Mall." Aka
Work Group Systems (http://www.wgs.com). Or perhaps LSL
(http://www.lsl.com) or CheapBytes (http://www.cheapbytes.com).
These are all reasonable places to check with if one wishes to use another
organization as a distribution channel.
The downside, of course, to using a distributor in this fashion is that most
of the sales price won't get to you. I don't know specific numbers, but
would hazard the guess that if the selling price were $50, you'd be pretty
lucky to get $10 of that. That's not a criticism of these channels as
'gougers;' merely the observation that it's liable to be more profitable to
self-distribute if at all practical.
It's increasingly plausible what with the growth of the Internet; one can
put out a "web shingle" as a contact point via which people can call/write
to request copies of software.
An original way that one might perhaps arrange reselling of product with
maximum profitability would be to contact one of the Linux VARs (see:
<http://www.hex.net/~cbbrowne/linuxvar.html>), and arrange sales through one
of them.
*Unlike* with software sellers like LSL/Red Hat/Caldera/..., the hardware
VARS are not primarily in business to sell software, so that they won't
inherently consider "you" to be in competition with them. This means that
they may not negotiate in as "bloodthirsty" fashion as I'd expect from the
software distributors.
--
Christopher B. Browne, cbbrowne AT hex DOT net, chris_browne AT sdt DOT com
PGP Fingerprint: 10 5A 20 3C 39 5A D3 12 D9 54 26 22 FF 1F E9 16
URL: <http://www.hex.net/~cbbrowne/>
Bill Gates to his broker: "You idiot, I said $150 million on **SNAPPLE**!!!"
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