$500 Discount on Inventor
Looks like someone is very pissed with Autodesk. While that is not a new thing, this particular someone (who calls himself JohnJohn191138), has started a blog called "Autodesk does NOT want you to know this..." and his first (and probably last) post has the same title. John claims to be working for a "prominent Autodesk reseller" and goes on to disclose the dirt about the ACE (Autodesk Customer Engagement) program instituted by Autodesk.
Bottom line, if you are interested in purchasing Inventor and want to save $500, a simple mouse click will do the trick. If you haven't already, now would be a good time to read the post. In fact, it was written two weeks ago.
If any of you have recently bought Inventor from an Autodesk reseller I would be interested to know whether there is truth in any of this. If you do comment to this post to either confirm or deny John's claims, I would appreciate it you did not do so anonymously. Otherwise, please feel free to comment anonymously if you want to shed more light on this issue.
If John's claims are true, then personally, I do not believe that Autodesk is doing something extremely wrong here. There are far more greater things to talk about when it comes to ethics, morals and CAD software vendors.
I am more interested in knowing whether this John fellow really works for an Autodesk reseller or is the figment of the imagination of one of Autodesk's many rivals who have somehow got wind of what really goes on in the ACE program. If someone has decided to buy Inventor instead of their product, then why not let the cat out of the bag and make Autodesk take a hit of $500 per license.
Or maybe John is a figment of the imagination of someone in Autodesk marketing who is high on pot, although that seems a bit far fetched. I am pretty sure that Autodesk has better ways of telling the world that they are giving a $500 discount on Inventor.
Or maybe John actually works for an Autodesk reseller, which may pretty well find itself in a lot of trouble if Autodesk manages to find out who is really behind this.
Note: I understand that John has not been able to get his message across as effectively as he probably would have wanted to. That's probably why he is spamming CAD blogs with comments containing his post, mine including. So by blogging about John and his blog some may find me guilty of promoting this guy. So be it.
Bottom line, if you are interested in purchasing Inventor and want to save $500, a simple mouse click will do the trick. If you haven't already, now would be a good time to read the post. In fact, it was written two weeks ago.
If any of you have recently bought Inventor from an Autodesk reseller I would be interested to know whether there is truth in any of this. If you do comment to this post to either confirm or deny John's claims, I would appreciate it you did not do so anonymously. Otherwise, please feel free to comment anonymously if you want to shed more light on this issue.
If John's claims are true, then personally, I do not believe that Autodesk is doing something extremely wrong here. There are far more greater things to talk about when it comes to ethics, morals and CAD software vendors.
I am more interested in knowing whether this John fellow really works for an Autodesk reseller or is the figment of the imagination of one of Autodesk's many rivals who have somehow got wind of what really goes on in the ACE program. If someone has decided to buy Inventor instead of their product, then why not let the cat out of the bag and make Autodesk take a hit of $500 per license.
Or maybe John is a figment of the imagination of someone in Autodesk marketing who is high on pot, although that seems a bit far fetched. I am pretty sure that Autodesk has better ways of telling the world that they are giving a $500 discount on Inventor.
Or maybe John actually works for an Autodesk reseller, which may pretty well find itself in a lot of trouble if Autodesk manages to find out who is really behind this.
Note: I understand that John has not been able to get his message across as effectively as he probably would have wanted to. That's probably why he is spamming CAD blogs with comments containing his post, mine including. So by blogging about John and his blog some may find me guilty of promoting this guy. So be it.
posted by Deelip Menezes at
11:08 AM
8 Comments:
Hi Deelip,
The earliest posting I have found from johnjohn is on the Engineering.com blog, dated 19 April 2009.
There are six responses thus far one being from 'another' rep who has confirmed what johnjohn has said; this respondent does not seem as shy, if we assume the name given is his 'real' name.
By
R. Paul Waddington, At
3:03 PM, May 11, 2009
$500 discount is nothing. Autodesk regularly offers LT users Inventor (and other software) for $2000 -- that's a $2000-discount, after allowing for the price of LT.
By
Anonymous, At
8:44 PM, May 11, 2009
Could this be a scam to get customers to say "yes" so the reseller can get a better rating?
By
Anonymous, At
10:29 AM, May 12, 2009
A Scam? perpetrated by who for the benefit of whom?
The responses I have received from a dealer, when I raised this issue, were interesting. In the first instance it was to say the ACE program is a 'quality assurance' process.
When I specifically quoted - and asked for his comment - on the paragraphs relating to the prices and the fact another dealer would not provide the cheaper price; the response was several questions to find out the source of my information.
Tellingly, my questions, about this fellows claims, remain unanswered?
A dealer really only benefits if he keeps his mouth shut, provides, to the customer, a smaller discount and pockets more of the 'increased margin'? After all if the statement is true he has no competition, for price, from his competitors.
Scam, publicity stunt, gripe or trouble making? Could be one or a combination; who wins, or benefits, from this?
By
R. Paul Waddington, At
4:07 AM, May 13, 2009
As a result of a just received phone call; we know an Autodesk dealer is 'required' to provide Autodesk, customer details at the time of an enquiry and that the customer will then get an (unsolicited) email, from Autodesk asking whether or not they are 'satisfied with the service' - yes or no.
As for the pricing well, that, it would appear, is still between you and the dealer in question and any other dealer can 'muscle' in if they want/can.
It was stressed the customer still has the choice with whom he deals. So this means if a potential purchaser approaches three dealers - for a quote - and they register his interest, thru' ACE, (does) he could expect three(3) emails from Autodesk asking if he is happy with the service???
How many time would you respond to emails of that type and does this mean the first (dealer) to register the customers intentions would be the only one likely to receive a (favourable) response. All the others may well get ignored meaning the first response is probably not a valid one?
By
R. Paul Waddington, At
7:03 AM, May 13, 2009
I would like someone to leak the text of this ACE program.
Also, applying this type of program to other products or industries makes it sound highly illegal. Lets say automobiles or engineering services for instance. A systems whereby customers are guaranteed a higher price by shopping for a better deal is no quality assurance system it is flat out dealer price protection and price fixing.
By
Anonymous, At
12:08 AM, May 19, 2009
This program is 100% true. If need to purchase software....call your preferred Autodesk reseller first. They will beat every price out there (if they're smart). Generally you can save 15% to 20% on Autodesk products.
By
Anonymous, At
12:21 PM, June 06, 2009
"It was stressed the customer still has the choice with whom he deals. So this means if a potential purchaser approaches three dealers - for a quote - and they register his interest, thru' ACE, (does) he could expect three(3) emails from Autodesk asking if he is happy with the service???
How many time would you respond to emails of that type and does this mean the first (dealer) to register the customers intentions would be the only one likely to receive a (favourable) response. All the others may well get ignored meaning the first response is probably not a valid one"
The customer still has a choice, but only the first reseller to register you through ACE gets the discounted wholesale price so they will always be the one with the lowest price on the software. If another reseller tries to register you after you have responded to the first email, the reseller will be denied automatically and you don't see another email.
Now, suppose you are not just looking for a box, but are looking for a reseller who can really help you move to Inventor. the first one you speak to registers you, but clearly is not the right choice for your company. Because they have the registration, you now get to pay a higher price to work with the reseller of your choice.
In that case, it's not much of a choice is it? No matter how you slice it, this is market manipulation and ultimately it is the customer who loses.
Oh Happy Day!
By
Anonymous, At
5:00 AM, August 22, 2009
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