Pricing / entry cost for this tool

Dennis Brown see3d at writeme.com
Sat Nov 26 11:52:39 EST 2005


I am one of those free HC to paid HC to paid SC crossgrade to paid  
Rev enterprise crossgrade to paid Studio downgrade to paid DC to paid  
DC upgrade.  My gosh, I have owned one of every license!  Personal  
circumstances kept me from ever using the first Enterprise license,  
and I would never have purchased it for $1K.  I first purchased it at  
$300 with an early SC crossgrade promotion.  I dare say that I would  
never have gotten going with RR if they had not changed their pricing  
policy.  I think they have the right basic set of products/prices  
now.  A bit of tweaking might make a few more people happy.  If  
someone can not afford even the $100 for DC, let them use the $1K MC  
that is now free, then buy DC or studio if they want the latest IDE  
and features.  The price of DC is right.  The price of Studio is  
right.  The price of Enterprise is right.  Having the full spectrum  
is right.  Get a great hobby product with little personalized support  
from RR for low cost --on par with the entry level consumer products  
of major companies like Adobe.  Want expensive professional support,  
pay for a professional license.  Totally fair!  I am a happy camper,  
and very happy with RR product policy.  However, I must point out  
that without this list RR would likely die.  This list is the life  
blood that makes it possible for them to sell any cost product  
without impossible support problems.  Value of this list --Priceless!

I don't want this to be taken the wrong way (it is not meant to  
slight any of the truly appreciated professionals on this list), but  
if I were a professional programmer that was happy to pay $1K  
initially and upgrade my support every year (because it saved me  
money in my business), I would frown on RR offering a lower cost  
version to hobbyists.  My reasons would be selfish --I don't want RR  
to get distracted with another market segment and possibly lesson  
their focus and support of my needs, or worse go out of business  
because they misjudged the other market.

However, I don't think this is the likely case.  I think that they  
are more likely to stay in business with the current model --it is  
the model being used by the most successful companies today.  They  
are growing (I assume) slowly as the product matures.  At some point  
I expect this model is going to propel them forward into a larger  
company that can offer better general support and product bug fixes  
(I think bugs cost more to fix than adding minor new features), while  
continuing to support the professionals needs.

I expect to continue upgrading my DC every year and perhaps upgrade  
my Studio if I find I need to make a stand alone (which I have never  
needed to do).  My needs are met by DC for now, but I want to support  
RR so that they continue to fix bugs and add useful features.

My two cents.

Dennis

On Nov 26, 2005, at 5:03 AM, Kay C Lan wrote:

> I am a hobbiest and from my perspective I am thankful Runrev are  
> trying to
> cater to both ends of the market. I have been critical of Runrev's  
> pricing
> strategy before and have not agreed with it, but they seem to be  
> doing a
> good job because I have paid for license renewals over the years  
> and have
> never let my license lapse. I must stress though that I have done  
> so in
> small steps, and to me this is the key to Runrev extracting more  
> and more
> money out of me. I started out free, went to Express, then  
> DreamCard, and
> now Studio, which I have renewed. If Rev was ala ParcSystem,   
> Enterprise
> option only, they'd have none of my money. They are currently  
> extracting
> more money out of me than a Digitalk strategy because I have been  
> basically
> evaluating Rev for the last 4 years, and when I've discovered a 'new'
> feature that I'd like to take advantage of, but can't because it is  
> in a
> 'higher' edition, I've eventually concluded that I need to forked  
> over the
> money...
>
> I'm wondering if Dan has a feel for how many people got into scripting
> because of the FREE HyperCard that came with your Mac back in the  
> late 80's.
> Sure you eventually had to buy the later editions (2.1 was free if  
> I can
> remember, but after that if you wanted to create stacks you needed  
> to buy
> the Developer Tool - about U$120 I think). I still remember the MUG I
> belonged too suddenly sending out floppies with public domain  
> stacks. Then
> it was multiple floppies. There were stacks everywhere.
>
> I am still amazed at how many HyperCard refugees I see seeking a  
> new life
> here. I thought I was slow at coming to grips with the fact that  
> HyperCard
> is dead, but obviously some are still applying CPR;-) How many  
> people got
> hooked on the Free HyperCard, discovered that they could do  
> something useful
> with it, and then convinced themselves that they needed to buy the  
> Developer
> Pack so they could take advantage of the larger feature set of the  
> later
> editions. How many people made a living out of HyperCard based on  
> their free
> introduction (not a 30 day trial, but unlimited use free).



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