Theo de Raadt wrote:
> Any distributor can buy them in >=20CDs at a 40% discount. Some
> larger distributors got a bit more of a discount, but typically
> not much.
And there the debugging process can start.
In North America there seems to be a fortunate constellation of services
and practices which make interstate commerce possible. For what ever
reason(s) trying something similar seems unfeasable for the European
market.
Since the CDs are a sunk cost, a 40% discount should mean that 2/3 of
the inventory must be sold to break even. That's a big gamble.
Some Advantages:
Artwork, case, stickers, songs, brochure.
Read-only binaries and source.
Fits with standard procurement policies (money for physical artifact).
Evidence of having voted with wallet.
Some Obstacles:
1) Shipping costs / delays - FedEx or other parcel service might be
overkill and add prohibitively to the expense. It would cost 1.60 EUR -
2.55 EUR (*) to ship the CD set from anywhere in Finland to anywhere in
Europe via regular post with a guesstimated delivery time of up to 6
working days.
2) Bank transfer reputation - the banks have a reputation for being
difficult about European inter-state transfers. That includes tacking
on charges and fees even when their own rules state otherwise. Delays
and lost payments are not rare enough.
It seems like online services such as Moneybookers might be an
alternative, though I would have to investigate rates and reputation
further before saying for sure.
3) FTP and HTTP are established - Computers were common at least in the
US, prior to the WWW, so physical media are seen as a 'normal' way to
transfer data. e.g. CDs, reels of tape, disks, etc. In contrast,
Europe, at least the parts I've seen, got computers *after* the WWW, so
that FTP and HTTP appear to be accepted as the 'normal' way to transfer
data. In only a few places in Europe have I been able to walk into a
shop and buy *any* kind of FOSS system. In nearly all other places, I
could not get the shops to even make a custom order, even when talking
to the manager(s) and offering to pay in advance. So, from my
observation, the tradition or practice is not there -- at least for
purely technical considerations.
-Lars
(*) The Finnish post's 2009 price list appears to give conflicting prices.
http://posti.fi/english/cardsandletters/internationalcardsandletters/priorityletter.html
