How to Price a C Function Library

[George E. Lehmann]

In article <4980 at stiatl.UUCP> todd at stiatl.UUCP (Todd Merriman) writes:
>If you worked in a multi-platform C language development shop and
>could license a C function library (with source distribution) with 350 
>modules that compile under MSDOS (Microsoft C), VMS (VAX11-C), and
>Unix System V; what would you expect to pay?  I am trying to price
>such a beast and would like to be fair.  I have heard suggestions as
>high as $12,000 and as low as $250!

What you're asking is a marketing question, which needs several questions
answered before you can proceed.
    1)  Is this product to be a self-sustaining profit center?  Or are your
        intentions merely to recover some of the development cost?
    2)  Who makes up your intended marketplace?  Professional software
        development groups within large corporations will pay much more
        for a package than will the average amateur.  In fact, a low price
        will typically cause the large groups to shun a package as "it can't
        be worth much."  On the other side of the coin, you can sell many
        times more at a low price than you can a high price.
    3)  What are you going to do about support?  Charge an annual fee?  Run
        an 800 line?  No support?  These factors must be considered when
        you set the price.
Just a few thoughts...  As to what I'd pay for such a package for my own
developments, it would have to be something pretty spectacular before I'd
consider it worth more than the price of the compiler.
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