[OT] Computer fatalities (was: Linux Made Easy: Linspire 5.0)

[Derek Martin]

On Thu, Apr 28, 2005 at 11:12:41AM -0400, Bill McGonigle wrote:
> On Apr 27, 2005, at 13:47, Derek Martin wrote:
> 
> >>So he doesn't pay property, sales, or social security taxes?  No tolls
> >>on the road, and certainly no gas taxes?  The cost of said taxes and
> >>other regs aren't built into the cost of everything he buys?  He
> >>doesn't have to meet building code when he renovates the house? etc.
> >>etc. etc.
> >
> >These points are specious
> 
> So refute them.

I did already.  The manufacturer's costs for manufacturing a
particular part don't change whether they're manufacturing it to be
included in a new unit, or to be used as a replacement part.  The cost
of shipping replacement parts manufactured overseas should be roughly
proportionate to that of sending the whole unit; they're shipping in
bulk, and the unit cost is based on either weight or volume, which
will be proportionate to that of the whole unit.  There will be
variances , but not enough to account for a 1000% mark-up.  It would
cost a lot more if they boxed the parts up individually for shipping,
but they're not that stupid.  They ship the parts packed in bulk.  The
only other cost which differs is the cost of distributing it to the
dealer.  That cost is passed on to the dealer in the form of
shipping and handling charges. 

So where's the 1000% mark-up coming from?  It's vapor.  All the taxes
and such that you're talking about don't factor into the cost in a
significant way...  They are personal taxes that certainly affect
whether my family can eat, but have zero to do with whether the
business is profitable.  They're not business expenses.  Overhead
costs for my dad's business basically include my dad's van (which he'd
have anyway even if he didn't have a business), the cost of fueling
it, his tools, and a business phone.  The only sales tax he pays is on
the tools and gasoline.  These costs are almost negligible when
compared to the cost of parts sold.  Taxes for materials are paid by
the customer.

It's primarily the cost of the parts that /forces/ appliance repairs
to be expensive.  My dad's labor rate is much lower than say Sears's
labor rate, and for a large percentage of jobs is much less than the
cost of the part or parts being replaced.

-- 
Derek D. Martin    http://www.pizzashack.org/   GPG Key ID: 0xDFBEAD02
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