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To: rhet0ric who wrote (9378)	3/12/1998 11:40:00 PM
From: Alomex	Respond to of 213173

I wouldn't assume that lower sales will mean a loss for Q2. It depends on how deep the cuts were. IMHO most of them were already accounted for in Q1. Sorry to hear you got beaten up on COSFF. I looked at buying that stock when it was at $6, but fortunately didn't have any spare cash at the time. Thanks, I lost very little 'cause I sold right away after the bad news started coming out. Others held their own all the way from $6 to $2... Ouch!

To: rhet0ric who wrote (9378)	3/13/1998 8:49:00 AM
From: Perry	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 213173

Here's some anecdotal evidence to suggest sales may not be that bad and it may go against the trend in earlier Q2s. Profit margins seem to be high as well. The following are from Maccentral's web site. *************** Friday, March 6, 1998 G3, 20th Anniversary Mac sales skyrocket Posted: 18:30 ET [B. Wilson] - According to two Macintosh resellers, sales of Power Macintosh G3s and 20th Anniversary Macs have shot up significantly after the recent price cuts that Apple put into place. "With the recent price decrease of the 20th Anniversary Mac to $1925, it has become the current best selling Mac model," says Raymond Rassi of Softclub Computer Systems, "beating even the PowerMac G3 233 Desktop by a margin of 2 to one! The coolest Mac ever made has become so popular because of it's futuristic design, spiffy multimedia features, Bose sound system and who can forget the soft leather-bound palmrests! Long live the Mac!!!" Tom McCoy of Digitek says "Digitek has experienced a huge increase in computer sales since the G3 price cuts. We were averaging 10-12 PowerMac G3 sales per week before the cuts. Now we are selling that many per day." The results show that relatively new entries into the Macintosh reselling market are becoming quite successful. McCoy adds "We are a small outfit that is growing quickly." Larger Macintosh resellers are experiencing greatly increased sales as well. Kurt Baldassari of CDW, a well established Macintosh reseller, says "CDW has seen increased sales of Apple Power Mac G3's as a result of the latest price drops". In addition, CDW reports that the once luxuriously priced 20th Anniversary edition Macintosh, now priced below $2000, have expanded. "The 20th Anniversary Macintosh sales have skyrocketed as a result of the new price point, however, supplies seem to be limited." While Apple continues to make leaps and bounds with pricing on its ultra-fast new systems, resellers continue to experience explosive growth. The Apple Store, meanwhile, is keeping pace with attractively priced systems and components. Resellers, send us your experience with Mac sales after the price cuts: bwilson@maccentral.com ********************** Thursday, March 12, 1998 Apple avoiding PC profit hit Posted: 18:30 ET [B. Wilson] - With Personal computer manufacturers such as Compaq warning about low profits, Apple seems to be one of the few computer companies avoiding the inevitable profit plunge brought on by super-cheap systems. In a report appearing in News.com, analysts say supply has clearly overshot demand for companies such as Hewlett Packard and IBM. This means more price cuts, which will lead to lower profit margins. The report adds "Last year's explosion of sub-$1,000 computers drove up unit sales for the big PC makers but came with lower profits per machine. To make up the difference, computer companies counted on selling many more inexpensive units to maintain their earnings growth." Meanwhile, Apple last quarter maintained profit margins over 30% on its competitively priced Power Macintosh G3 systems. According to recent data which places Apple 3rd among retail PC sales revenue, recent G3 price cuts have sparked sales of G3 systems even further. Resellers have certainly felt the increased sales as well. See our report "G3 and 20th Anniversary Mac Sales skyrocket." The positive sentiment about Apple profit margins may also be partly behind the company's recent stock rise. The stock today closed at 27, flirting with levels near that of when Apple announced its deal Microsoft last year. Apple's stock leads the PC industry in year-to-date gains with more than a 100% appreciation since the beginning of the year.