6 ms·

When the software requires continuous updates and a server component and storage and things, this doesn't make any sense.

withinboredom 4y ago
There’s a ceiling, a point you can never pass, with a subscription model due to churn. There isn’t a ceiling with one-off purchases.
- paulryanrogers 4y ago
  Isn't the one-off ceiling much the same: everyone who is interested has bought it, of at least tried it?
  - withinboredom 4y ago
    Nope. The one-off ceiling is basically non-existent for practical purposes. Do I pay you a theoretical infinite amount of money to use your product for a small percentage of my income, or do I pay you a small part of my wealth for your product? With a subscription model, there’s a point where the consumer has paid you “too much” and they will either cancel or find another solution. This is also known as churn. If your avg customer pays you for 8 months, this is a pretty good indicator of how much customers are willing to pay, but you can likely charge more for a one-off cost, sometimes 2-5x more. Since you are likely combatting churn by finding new customers, switching to a one-off model means you can just find new customers and not worry about churn since it doesn’t exist. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes subscription models make a lot of sense. Most of the time they don’t unless you’re selling something that has an infinite cost anyway (like immediate access to “all” movies ever made like Netflix) and would be an infinite cost for the consumer to do it in some other way. But if I can pay a contractor to build your app for less than infinite money, then it shouldn’t cost an infinite amount to use your product.
- tomnipotent 4y ago
  Subscription's exchange a higher ceiling for a higher floor, which makes running a business much easier.
rajamaka 4y ago
Seems to work for most video games
- paintman252 4y ago
  Does it? The servers of average video game don't last very long
- chronotis 4y ago
  Those same pay-once video games also sell season passes, MTX content, expansion packs, and in-game currency.

withinboredom 4y ago

There’s a ceiling, a point you can never pass, with a subscription model due to churn. There isn’t a ceiling with one-off purchases.

paulryanrogers 4y ago
Isn't the one-off ceiling much the same: everyone who is interested has bought it, of at least tried it?
- withinboredom 4y ago
  Nope. The one-off ceiling is basically non-existent for practical purposes. Do I pay you a theoretical infinite amount of money to use your product for a small percentage of my income, or do I pay you a small part of my wealth for your product? With a subscription model, there’s a point where the consumer has paid you “too much” and they will either cancel or find another solution. This is also known as churn. If your avg customer pays you for 8 months, this is a pretty good indicator of how much customers are willing to pay, but you can likely charge more for a one-off cost, sometimes 2-5x more. Since you are likely combatting churn by finding new customers, switching to a one-off model means you can just find new customers and not worry about churn since it doesn’t exist. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes subscription models make a lot of sense. Most of the time they don’t unless you’re selling something that has an infinite cost anyway (like immediate access to “all” movies ever made like Netflix) and would be an infinite cost for the consumer to do it in some other way. But if I can pay a contractor to build your app for less than infinite money, then it shouldn’t cost an infinite amount to use your product.
tomnipotent 4y ago
Subscription's exchange a higher ceiling for a higher floor, which makes running a business much easier.

rajamaka 4y ago

Seems to work for most video games

paintman252 4y ago
Does it? The servers of average video game don't last very long
chronotis 4y ago
Those same pay-once video games also sell season passes, MTX content, expansion packs, and in-game currency.