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I would buy this but - like the hours on an AOL Free Trial CD - I would never have the time to extract value from each of the offered services. These services

I would buy this but - like the hours on an AOL Free Trial CD - I would never have the time to extract value from each of the offered services. These services have confusing end times (3 month, 6 month, 12 month, transactional?) At a bare minimum I'd have to keep a calendar of what expires when and that's just an extra hassle. Next time, please work out a deal where ALL offered products end on the same date so there's less complexity buyers have to keep in mind. Another concern: this bundle seems to have a mish-mash of offerings with little rhyme or reason. It's like someone said "let's throw as many vaguely web development related SaaS products together and hope there'll be something for everyone!". Finally, why SaaS? Sure, it's a great business model for a company, but as a consumer each time I sign up for a SaaS I have to make a calculated risk: * Does the service have a good data export option? * How likely this service will be around for a year or longer if I'm to sink my time learning it? * Does this company have any exposure and does it look like it knows what it's doing? If you decide to stick with SaaS, I hope you curate better and streamline the deal, but frankly I'm looking forward to a Bundle of installed apps instead.

bearwithclaws 13y ago
The deal is curated. All the mentioned apps were either from my personal experience using it or recommendation from HN. Great guidelines on choosing SaaS (noted for future deal curation). And you are right about the end times. I'll keep an eye on that for the next bundle. Thanks for the feedback! It's my first time doing this, and rest assured I'm listening with all ears.
- tsumnia 13y ago
  Like lobo had mentioned, I would like to see a program-based bundle. If you were to able to follow the HumbleBundle's pricing scheme for programs like Sublime Text (and even f.lux which is free), coupled with other utility packages, I would be inclined to pitch in some cash.
  - AJ007 13y ago
    From a marketing standpoint, a smaller group of closely related / themed items may be a better attention receiver than 15 misc items. The downside is the incentives for the sellers may not be as clear being they may end up as just a bunch of competitors doing the same thing.
- lobotryas 13y ago
  By "curate" I meant to pick a theme or clear connection between the chosen apps. For example, you might offer an "analytics" bundle that offers numerous services that either tackle different aspects of site/usage analytics or allow the buyer to cheaply sample many "best of the best" services before making their decision. This bundle lists an e-zine, a web-tv channel, SMS/VOIP API, CI, a dashboard, image hosting... The only thing linking these disparate services is the claim that "someone on HN recommended them" and that's it (was there a poll thread that you could link? citation appreciated). Taken together, this bundle makes for an incoherent product picture. Another observation: the site claims that there are "limited units remaining", however the deal is running for 26 more days. Does this mean the bundle will be shut down when all digital licenses are "sold" or is this a way for getting more conversions? If the latter, you could step it up a notch and display fake dwindling license counters next to each product so users are placed under more pressure to make the purchase before you "run out of stock".

bearwithclaws 13y ago

The deal is curated. All the mentioned apps were either from my personal experience using it or recommendation from HN. Great guidelines on choosing SaaS (noted for future deal curation). And you are right about the end times. I'll keep an eye on that for the next bundle. Thanks for the feedback! It's my first time doing this, and rest assured I'm listening with all ears.

tsumnia 13y ago
Like lobo had mentioned, I would like to see a program-based bundle. If you were to able to follow the HumbleBundle's pricing scheme for programs like Sublime Text (and even f.lux which is free), coupled with other utility packages, I would be inclined to pitch in some cash.
- AJ007 13y ago
  From a marketing standpoint, a smaller group of closely related / themed items may be a better attention receiver than 15 misc items. The downside is the incentives for the sellers may not be as clear being they may end up as just a bunch of competitors doing the same thing.
lobotryas 13y ago
By "curate" I meant to pick a theme or clear connection between the chosen apps. For example, you might offer an "analytics" bundle that offers numerous services that either tackle different aspects of site/usage analytics or allow the buyer to cheaply sample many "best of the best" services before making their decision. This bundle lists an e-zine, a web-tv channel, SMS/VOIP API, CI, a dashboard, image hosting... The only thing linking these disparate services is the claim that "someone on HN recommended them" and that's it (was there a poll thread that you could link? citation appreciated). Taken together, this bundle makes for an incoherent product picture. Another observation: the site claims that there are "limited units remaining", however the deal is running for 26 more days. Does this mean the bundle will be shut down when all digital licenses are "sold" or is this a way for getting more conversions? If the latter, you could step it up a notch and display fake dwindling license counters next to each product so users are placed under more pressure to make the purchase before you "run out of stock".