Periodically I get inquiries from Apple employees about discounts. Sometimes I respond, “what kind of discount can you give me?”, but usually I give them the line that ReceiptWallet is priced low enough that it is affordable and if it saves time, isn’t it worth the cost?
I can understand educational users asking for discounts, but why should Apple employees get discounts? Do I get a discount on Apple products (yes, as a developer, I pay $500 to get 1 discounted machine a year, but that’s it and arguably, the discount I get for what I want is about $500, so it is a wash).
Thats insane. The line about how some Mac users are snobs holds very true here. And it’s true, some think they are above everyone else. Thats like the guy who created the pancake walking into a Denny’s and expecting a discount on pancakes… And that $500 Isn’t coming out of their paycheck.
I don’t think the reason they ask is because they’re snobs, it’s because they think (maybe mistakenly) that they’re doing you a favor if they got the software and pushed it from where they sit.
I doubt you’d be posting this if Guy Kawasaki had asked for your software when he was an Apple evangelist (and an employee). He put many small developers on the map.
Right, if an Apple employee or anyone else had some influence in the Mac world, I’d go further than give them a discount and give them a free copy. I’m not sure it is being a Mac snob that causes people to want a discount, but it just seems strange to me that Apple employees would even ask (OK, it doesn’t hurt to ask, but I’ve never heard of a discount for Apple employees from independent developers).
Well, i doubt one can generalize that all Apple employees are like this. My guess is some of them get that you have to make a living too. And, some are arrogant, just like MS, Yahoo, Google, and all sorts of employees of successful companies.
Many large companies have arrangements with other companies to provide their employees a discount. They’re probably asking because they’re just curious whether you have such an arrangement. At my previous employers, large entertainment companies, there were discount arrangements on all kinds of products including computers, cars, travel services, and so on.
My advice is, don’t take it personally, just explain there’s no discount and move on.
Often times developers give employees discounts on Apple related software and products so that they will know the ins and outs and will hopefully be able to sell it better. Perhaps that is why they are asking?
While some Apple employees might help a product sell, Apple has a lot of employees that just want a discount because they work for the mothership. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to ask.