When Apple unveiled the eMac on Monday, the company said the new education-only all in one Mac model was available in two basic variations for $999 and $1,199 respectively. That price only holds for educational institutions, however — not students or faculty who can also buy at reduced rates. So said News.com’s Ian Fried in a new article entitled eMac evokes price shock for students.
In fact, students and faculty who have visited Apple’s online Store for Education are faced with a higher price, partly because they are charged more and partly because the entry-level model isn’t yet available, according to Fried — an issue that Apple senior director of hardware engineering Greg Joswiak said would be fixed by week’s end.
Regardless, students and faculty pay $50 more than institutions do for the eMac. Why? The lesson is taught in Business 101 — the principle known as economy of scale. Academic institutions tend to buy in greater quantity and therefore get a better price than a student of faculty member can by just buying one.
Joswiak said that Apple will be adding the entry-level CD-ROM equipped model to the list of equipment that students and faculty can buy, thanks to popular demand since the system was first unveiled. The low-end eMac will be priced at $1,049 — that configuration doesn’t include a modem, however.