[ The PC Guide | The PC Guide Disk Edition | Pricing and Ordering Information ]

Price Schedule and Payment Terms

This section contains pricing information for The PC Guide Disk Edition. I determined the pricing for the Disk Edition based on careful thought, feedback from dozens of readers, comparison to the cost of similar print and on-line materials, and a consideration of the costs of production and delivery. In response to feedback from readers who found my old price schedule confusing, I have greatly simplified this page. Here is the pricing for individual Disk Edition orders:

Tip: A discount applies to payment by mail... see below for details.

CD-ROM prices include the disk, jewel case, packaging materials and first-class postage within the United States or Canada. Overseas air-mail shipping for a single CD-ROM is $5 for those in Asia, Australia or New Zealand, $4 everywhere else outside the U.S. and Canada. For larger orders, please email me for a quote. Note that there is no difference between the "regular" and "upgrade" Disk Editions, other than the price, which is heavily discounted to provide a break for those who have already supported the site by ordering in the past. Anyone who has already purchased the Disk Edition may use the upgrade pricing, even if they initially ordered a download version and now want a CD-ROM version. The reason that CD-ROM upgrades are not free where downloads are, is that there are additional costs associated with CD-ROMs that aren't present for download orders.

In addition to individual orders, I also offer the following options. Contact me for information and/or a price quote on any of the following:

• Multiple CD-ROM Price Breaks: I discount signficantly for those interested in purchasing multiple CDs.
• Corporate Site Licenses: Licenses for in-house use of the Disk Edition are available, ranging from two users to an unlimited site license, and rates are very reasonable.
• Educational Licenses: To show my support for higher education, I offer licensing of the material to educational institutions for the flat rate of $6 per student, with a minimum of 10 student licenses. This is a license intended for educators using the material in an elementary school, high school, college or vocational training environment only. Educational licenses include one Disk Edition CD-ROM. Additional CD-ROMs (up to the number of student licenses purchased) are available for an extra cost of $8 per disk. Please note that this pricing does not apply to individual students ordering the Disk Edition; I just cannot afford to spend the time filling orders for $6 a piece, sorry. (Though if 10 students want to order as a group, that's just fine of course!)

Here are the payment terms for Disk Edition orders (see here for comprehensive ordering information):

• All payment must be in US dollars. Due to bank policies here, I have no ability to deal with foreign currencies unfortunately.
• A cash discount applies to those prepaying by mail: $2 or 5% off, whichever is greater. Simply take the base cost of whatever you are ordering, and multiply by 5%. If the result is less than $2, round up to $2. Then subtract from the base cost of the product. For individual orders, the cash discount price is $31 for CD-ROM ($10 upgrade), or $21 for download (download upgrades are free).
• Payment is now accepted using the online payment system PayPal.com, though the cash discount no longer applies to PayPal payment. Since PayPal has been changing their policies in a way that I consider detrimental, I no longer heartily recommend the service, as I once did, but will accept it as a convenience to Disk Edition customers. See this page for more information on using PayPal for the Disk Edition.
• Direct credit card charge (Visa and MasterCard only) is also possible.  I have a special secure form implemented for sending credit card information.
• Payment sent by mail must be in the form of a money order, bank check or certified check for orders over $35. I will accept personal checks (drawn on a U.S. bank) for orders up to $35. Your name must be imprinted on the check (no starter checks please). I’m doing this for the convenience of those ordering single copies; I’ll continue it as long as people don’t start bouncing checks on me... after two years, so far so good!
• I cannot accept bank transfers, much as I would like to, except for very large orders. The fees charged by the banks for this are outrageous.
• Payment must be received in advance unless special arrangements are made (generally for larger orders only.) Under some circumstances I will accept P.O.s from large organizations, but I prefer prepayment, to avoid confusion.
• I will accept (US dollar) cash but you send it at your own risk--I don't recommend doing so, since there is no recourse if it is lost in the mail. If you’re going to do this, at least wrap the cash in paper and don’t send coinage. The cash discount does apply in this case as well of course.

Note: Pricing is subject to change without notice. Price changes are not retroactive to prior orders. I do not plan on changing prices very often.

Next: Using PayPal for Disk Edition Orders

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