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Really not a fan of the "free for now, we'll give you an idea of pricing in the future". I understand that the team at StackOverflow probably doesn't have an id

Really not a fan of the "free for now, we'll give you an idea of pricing in the future". I understand that the team at StackOverflow probably doesn't have an idea on pricing, but it makes it extremely difficult to jump on and try the product. I guess in that situation, our team should just wait until it's out and public. But a lot of these "free betas" go on for months or even years. I know this isn't always the case, but it almost feels like at times, the goal is to get users dependent on the product before telling them how much you're going to take/charge.

laythea 9y ago
In my opinion, this is a tactic used when a company has less than maximum confidence in the product and want to test the water. Ie. It could be a great success and they will charge you $$$, or a complete failure and they will drop the product, or a "just ok" success, maybe due to the product itself being "ok". Even then best of these outcomes is not good (considering the risk of investing in the product early), so if they are not confident to charge 100%, I would not invest any significant time/resource into something like this. I'm out.
cheath 9y ago
PM on Channels here. I see what you're saying. The honest answer is that we just really need to focus on making sure the product works well before anything else. I really can't speak with confidence about pricing, because we still need to do discovery on what will work best. But what I do know is that it'll likely continue to be free for many people with some premium features that people can pay for if they want. And if not, the data you create is yours and you can export it and bail!
- skmurphy 9y ago
  the price is a key part of product functionality.
- sofaofthedamned 9y ago
  Thank you. But when you say 'export it and bail', what do you mean? Is it exportable in a way I can fire it into something else? Is there a definition of 'exportable'?
skmurphy 9y ago
I agree, it's better to make a "beta price" or "pioneer price" that you honor, when I see "Free for now" I worry about investing effort in a product that the company does not have enough confidence in to put a price on. Especially one where I may be storing what is private intellectual property and trade secrets. I would much prefer to see a price and a commitment.

laythea 9y ago

In my opinion, this is a tactic used when a company has less than maximum confidence in the product and want to test the water. Ie. It could be a great success and they will charge you $$$, or a complete failure and they will drop the product, or a "just ok" success, maybe due to the product itself being "ok". Even then best of these outcomes is not good (considering the risk of investing in the product early), so if they are not confident to charge 100%, I would not invest any significant time/resource into something like this. I'm out.

cheath 9y ago

PM on Channels here. I see what you're saying. The honest answer is that we just really need to focus on making sure the product works well before anything else. I really can't speak with confidence about pricing, because we still need to do discovery on what will work best. But what I do know is that it'll likely continue to be free for many people with some premium features that people can pay for if they want. And if not, the data you create is yours and you can export it and bail!

skmurphy 9y ago
the price is a key part of product functionality.
sofaofthedamned 9y ago
Thank you. But when you say 'export it and bail', what do you mean? Is it exportable in a way I can fire it into something else? Is there a definition of 'exportable'?

skmurphy 9y ago

I agree, it's better to make a "beta price" or "pioneer price" that you honor, when I see "Free for now" I worry about investing effort in a product that the company does not have enough confidence in to put a price on. Especially one where I may be storing what is private intellectual property and trade secrets. I would much prefer to see a price and a commitment.