Office 2010 Discount by Amazon, Despite Strong Sales

Amazon has slashed the price of several versions of its Microsoft Office 2010 applications suite. Cuts have been as high as 13 per cent at the online retailer, which insists the reductions have nothing to do with weak demand.

Leading the cuts is the Home and Student version of Office: Microsoft lists the software at $149, but Amazon currently posts it at just $129. Receiving slightly less drastic cuts is the Home and Business edition, available for $259 (usually $279) and the Professional version, listed at $459 by Microsoft but sold by Amazon for a whopping $499. (Source: informationweek.com)

Office 2010 Leads Amazon Software Sales

Microsoft officially launched Office 2010 on Tuesday. It doesn't appear Amazon's cuts to the software's prices have anything to do with its selling power, since the Home and Student version of Office 2010 sold faster than any other piece of software on Amazon Wednesday. The Home and Business version ranked second.

The premium-priced Professional version, which has received a $40 cut, did not sell so well, however. It ranked 19th on Amazon's software sales rankings chart.

Not all retailers have responded to the Amazon cuts. Both Microsoft and Best Buy continue to sell these versions for their list prices. However, it should be noted that purchasing these versions from Microsoft via download (rather than a boxed installation disc) is still the cheapest option. At Microsoft's site, the Home and Student version is listed at $119, Home and Business at $199, and Professional at $349.

Prices Cuts Remain a Mystery

Some critics suggest the cuts could be related to minimal changes to Office's popular programs, like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Reports suggest that the new Office 2010 offers little over the 2007 version, and therefore, the price to upgrade is not justified. (Source: washingtonpost.com)

It's also plausible that the cuts could have more to do with Microsoft's decision to launch free Office 2010 web apps in order to compete with Google Docs and other cloud computing options. There's nothing like a free (even if very basic) alternative to help drive down prices.