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In reply to 3. If your application changes enough, then isn't it a different app, thereby allowing you to charge for a new feature set? Seems like ideal price

by Shamiq 18y ago

In reply to 3. If your application changes enough, then isn't it a different app, thereby allowing you to charge for a new feature set? Seems like ideal price discrimination to me (good for producer/provider).

walesmd 18y ago
Well, think about Backpack. It made the transition from being a personal data manager to being an "Intranet" platform. If you had charged a lifetime fee to start, and then done all of the work to make it the new Backpack, how do you convince your users that even though it has the same name, and same look, it's worth purchasing another license. Seems like a premium way to lose users and have the blogosphere come at you Frankenstein style (burning torches and all).
- Shamiq 18y ago
  Your point is well-taken. What if I were to instead develop version X of my original product under a new name? I could bucket test the features I want to add, a few at a time. When I am "done" with the new version, I could then release as a new product and invite users to pay an upgrade fee -- with the caveat that the old version will stop receiving support/etc after a given date in the future (or perhaps even charge for support after that date in such a way it makes more economic sense to switch). I may make an addendum to this post when I am slightly more lucid in the morning. P.S. Come to think of it, isn't this what MSFT does with the Windows line -- and last I heard, they have been quite successful.
  - walesmd 18y ago
    Yeah, I guess it really depends on what your product is. I am merely thinking SaaS in my posts, but I could see a lot of other applications (and have purchased some myself) that take a different route. For instance, ExpressionEngine or the Torque Gaming Engine. When you purchase a license you are only purchasing a license for free updates to that version (let's say the 1.0 branch). When EE 2.0 comes out, you will have to pay an upgrade fee to use the new version (albeit, heavily discounted, compared to purchasing a completely new license). It all comes down to what your product is, who your target market is, and what the trends within that niche are. Obviously you would take vastly differing approaches between building the next Backpack or selling an Enterprise grade Help Desk system to the Department of Defense. :D

by Shamiq 18y ago

walesmd 18y ago

Well, think about Backpack. It made the transition from being a personal data manager to being an "Intranet" platform. If you had charged a lifetime fee to start, and then done all of the work to make it the new Backpack, how do you convince your users that even though it has the same name, and same look, it's worth purchasing another license. Seems like a premium way to lose users and have the blogosphere come at you Frankenstein style (burning torches and all).

Shamiq 18y ago
Your point is well-taken. What if I were to instead develop version X of my original product under a new name? I could bucket test the features I want to add, a few at a time. When I am "done" with the new version, I could then release as a new product and invite users to pay an upgrade fee -- with the caveat that the old version will stop receiving support/etc after a given date in the future (or perhaps even charge for support after that date in such a way it makes more economic sense to switch). I may make an addendum to this post when I am slightly more lucid in the morning. P.S. Come to think of it, isn't this what MSFT does with the Windows line -- and last I heard, they have been quite successful.
- walesmd 18y ago
  Yeah, I guess it really depends on what your product is. I am merely thinking SaaS in my posts, but I could see a lot of other applications (and have purchased some myself) that take a different route. For instance, ExpressionEngine or the Torque Gaming Engine. When you purchase a license you are only purchasing a license for free updates to that version (let's say the 1.0 branch). When EE 2.0 comes out, you will have to pay an upgrade fee to use the new version (albeit, heavily discounted, compared to purchasing a completely new license). It all comes down to what your product is, who your target market is, and what the trends within that niche are. Obviously you would take vastly differing approaches between building the next Backpack or selling an Enterprise grade Help Desk system to the Department of Defense. :D