“This week someone bid £100,000 for a handbag once owned
by the increasingly batty former prime minister, Margaret Thatcher.
But it was for charity, so that’s all right, then.”
“But into whose pocket will the money go for the first 10 Oracle
NIC Internet Appliances to roll off the production lines? These are
to be sold complete with letters of authentication, through
Amazon’s new auction service. So what’s this: Oracle is now the
Franklin Mint of the computer industry?”
“No doubt the Amazon auction will succeed in lathering up
the hype for the NIC, a cheap and cheerless device. But it does
seems a little peculiar to apply the marketing tactics of luxury/
scarcity – squeeze the best price through a limited edition,
instant collectors’ item.“