Is It Evil to Have an Upsell?
You know what an upsell is, right? You buy thing #1 from me, I offer you thing #2 that's related but NOT required for thing #1 to work...
Lance and I released our "Backup Creator" WordPress plugin 6 months ago -- click a button, it backs up WordPress. Click a different button, it restores WordPress somewhere else... and it's now protecting over 20,000 WordPress sites!
- Some people bought "Backup Creator" for $7, some for $17, $27, $37, and $47
- We promised 1 years of bug fixes and "updates" but not "upgrades" (new features) -- important difference
- We recently released a "Backup Creator Ultimate" version that includes auto backup, FTP backup, FTP restore, and a few other things
- Anyone who buys today for $47 doesn't have a choice between the old "Backup Creator" and "Backup Creator Ultimate" -- they get Ultimate
- Anyone who already paid $47 for "Backup Creator" gets Ultimate for free
- Anyone who already paid $37 upgrades to Ultimate for $10, anyone who paid $27 can upgrade for $20, etc.
Most of our customers were thrilled that we released a new version with new features. Only a couple of people had complaints.
I want to share those few complaints with you and put this out in the open just to make sure we are "doing the right thing!"
Here's what's been said:
- "If I upgrade now for $40, and pay $47 total, I lose my $7 early bird discount. I'd be no better off than anyone else"
- "Many of us who Beta Tested your software spent quite a bit of time chasing down problems and reinstalling updates on all our blogs. I think you now have a wonderful product and will make a lot of money. I would suggest you reward all those who helped you get there."
- "I have been getting all these emails telling me how great the update to back up creator was going to be when the only update was that you wanted more money from us........... Sorry guys IMHO you blew this"
Those are actual unedited quotations. I thought long and hard about airing this kind of "dirty laundry" in public but I really want to know what YOU think.
I'm honestly not upset, or bitter in ANY way... just asking you personally, did we do the right thing releasing a new version, or should we have stuck to our "original" version that only backed up and restored, and did nothing else? Please post your response below...
Edit: From now on we will be sure to be 100% clear with the updates policy, and if we do offer an upgrade path for our software in the future, we will make it a "flat rate" or find some way to make sure those early birds keep their early bird discount. Thanks again for that discussion!
Filed in: Copywriting • Product Creation
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I was an early buyer. As much as I’d like a freebie lifetime upgrade I don’t have a problem with paying for significantly upgraded functionality. I write code so I do get it.
But it would be nice to get it at a discount. As good as your reputation is RP it still takes a leap of faith to purchase when something is brand-spanking new.
But I can see the problem. There is a cost to you involved in just administering discounts.
This is not a new phenomena in software marketing. When Microsoft sells you a product (I.e. Office) you receive bug fixes and security updates free. But when the next upgrade of that software comes out, newcomers pay full price while upgraders get a discount. Just because we know that Robert and Lance aren’t a big company and we interact with them directly on the web, doesn’t mean that we get to dictate how they run their business. They can charge whatever they want for their products and updates. If you don’t like that, don’t buy it! It’s just that simple.
Well since you asked …
I purchased via a WSO at a price of $17. I hesitated and did not get the $7 price. I had not complaints, my fault for not acting fast enough. I don’t recall Backup Creator being called “Lite” then. Thank you for the upgrades as it is now in ver 2.
Got the email for the Ultimate Backup Creator a few days ago and when I read that it was $47 and to upgrade I would need to pay the difference from what I originally paid.
I paid the extra $30 but it did leave me with a rather odd feeling about this. No doubt about it, the product is good but I felt like a bit of a sucker and thought those who did get in earlier than me must feel even more of a sucker than me.
Since the original backup creator will no longer be developed, I did feel that I would need to upgrade or be left stranded.
The product is worth the $47, and more if you ever need to use it. Your business plan was not as customer friendly as it could have been.
Cheers!
Gary Killops
I will say this is the only thing lately i have found in WF, i understand that there is a cost of maintaining and upgrading the product so i don’t have a problem to pay a yearly fee for a product that will make my life easier and plus help my business, i think this should change for anyone who releases a product in WF they should just give for the first buyers a 2 years free upgrade and after that is year by year. I think this will be the best practice so a person develops a product and it will give them more will to take a product to the next level, or with all the changes we have daily to fix any bug on the road. Lately i see a great programmer comes with a plugin or software this week and next month they have another one and they forget about the first one because simple is not generating money and that complete understandable; but not fair to the person who buys the product, we just get blind side about lifetime upgrade, its just not possible. I have purchase way over 100 WSO, and more than have are not even working anymore. Soy i just did a pack with myself if i see something good i try to find something similar on a pay membership per year out there, just because i know when i need help or there is upgrade i will receive it because that who they earn there money.
Your product is awesome but i concord we few people that beta tested this for you and even gave you feedback and suggestion to improved your product, that you did , but i will say give them 1 year more free of upgrades and fixes and after that year they need to pay, even after the year is over you can give them a coupon for a discount. But this is just my view of this, is your business and product at the end of the day and you manage as you want, is great product you will never have every customer happy, you will loose some and gain new ones.
Best of luck and success for all of you
Best Regards
Carlos
I originally purchased Backup Creator for 7 bucks, back then it was little buggy and you guys did a great job in updating it because I saved all the revisions. When the developers license came out I jumped on that also I think I paid $47. Now I have to drop another $40 to upgrade to the Ultimate license? Yeah, I’m a little ticked off. Where does it stop, now it’s Ultimate, tomorrow it is Platinum? You could’ve started the price at $47 with free lifetime upgrades. Don’t get me wrong you have a good product but a little shady business pratice. How much is the upgrade my developer’s license to Ultimate?
Regards,
Spencer
Upsells at time of purchase are pretty much expected these days and, when done properly, are generally a good thing.
So, offering new users a basic and a more advanced version at different price points makes sense. But, asking early birds and beta testers to pay more for the new and improved version may be crossing the line. That said, I do like the “just pay the difference” model as a fair compromise.
I say keep the complainers happy by giving them what they want, but draw a clear line in the sand for them and new users going forward.
All good things,
John
Hi John,
I probably should have been clearer about the “beta testing” comment.
We tested the plugin privately for several months before releasing it. It didn’t work on 100% of web hosts out of the gate — we had to code around some very strange issues specific to those web hosts (mostly slow servers and not enough memory) and gave everyone the fixed version of that.
For that reason, one or two of our customers decided to start calling themselves “beta testers” when complaining to us about the new version. I hope that makes sense.
I can only say that the new version “Backup Creator Ultimate” gives me more than I need by way of features.
I’m only interested in backing up my WP installations and if necessary re-creating them should the worst happen.
If the support ceases ofter 3 years then so be it – maybe the software will still be functional anyway. If not then it’s back to sourcing another solution.
You asked – just my thoughts.
Regards
I bought at $7, and it still doesn’t work with the Go Daddy account. I have therefor no idea how ‘wonderful’ the product is.
Aside from the above, I think following the Microsoft technique of upgrading at a lower cost than a new purchase is the way to go. Keep in mind that they (Microsoft) do continue to provide support and bug-fixes for several years after a new upgrade comes out, and often you can use an older version for a couple of generations of new versions. For example, I could still use my old windows version, skipping Win XP, and Vista, eventually getting Win 7.
I would suggest allowing upgrades to the new version for about half the price of a new purchase. This assumes that there are very significant and important changes to the product and its functionality. You start to get into the splitting hairs of technico-speak. Is it really a new version? Or is it just a revision of an existing version? Or did you just add a couple of bells and whistles and repackage it as a new product?
The last time Microsoft came out with a really new version of Windows was when it incorporated DOS into it with Win 95. Everything since then has been a revision of code, mostly adding in new things. Until Win 7, the code just kept getting bigger and bulkier, and required ever more RAM and disk space. Win 7 almost qualifies as a new version, but still contains too much of the old code to be truly new.
Apart from the technical side of things, how will your market feel about having to shell out for a new version? Does it really need it? Does it even want it? Is it possible that you could sell two levels of the same product? (think Win 7 Home vs. Pro)
As to whether or not I would be interested in purchasing the new ‘version’, that will depend on whether I decide to migrate my ‘site’ away from the clutches of Go Daddy, and how I eventually go about doing so.
Hello,
I love the Backup Creator. I have the developers license and have been waiting a long time to see the new features in the Ultimate version. Although I believe these new features should be a part of Backup Creator anyway. I was a little miffed to have to pay extra for these upgrades, but I still love it, as well as the 20 dollar discount given in the admin area of my blog, otherwise I would not have been able to upgrade. So in all honesty I believe this should be a part of the upgrades and a permanent feature of the Backup Creator plugin, not something to pay extra for but a feature that is a great part of Backup Creator.
Sincerely,
Gina
I was an early buyer. I attended a webinar and bought the product right after the webinar for $7.00. I understand that the Ultimate Version is truly more than an upgrade and there needs to be some compensation to you for this product. However, I also believe that a little discount for the early adopters would be great.
Robert,
My thoughts are.. I bought at the recommendation of a friend. I paid the full price and think its worth every penny! However I did have issues with the software and spent a lot of down time as a result of a needed DB update from you guys. While I am an Ultimate Buyer I think if I had bought at a reduced “early bird” price I would be upset that there was no option for me to use what I bought. Maybe I don’t need (I do and love them just saying for others) the new features and just want my good old Backup Creator software that I purchased with support. Kind of like the reference above. Microsoft when they do a major release will charge you full price or an upgrade price (discounted) but they will also let you continue to use what you already paid for until a posted end of life, and even after that with out support of updates.
I love your product, I love that you listen to your buyers and respond and I thank you for asking it shows you care.
Cheers!
I’m a $47 BAckup Creator customer, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn’t have to pay for the upgrade to Ultimate. After watching the webinar and checking the site, I was really unclear about an upgrade price, so I appreciate you responding to my question directly.THANK YOU!
Trying to see another perspective, however, I guess I understand the early-birds feeling a little miffed that they now have to pay the same as anyone else who’s just coming on board.
Best Regards,
Stacey
I do not think it is right to require more money from current owners of your product just because you improved it. If you wanted to sell it this way, we should be informed prior to purchase.
Upsells are always sensitive, and someone’s always going to feel like they got rooked.
All you can really do is treat your existing customers the best way you know how, and hope they understand that in the long run, “free extras” can only go so far — if you don’t turn a profit, you can’t continue producing improved versions, new software, etc.
Best regards,
Tom Knapp
I was one of those that purchased at the $7 level, and as I have watched the plug in grow, I have been amazed that you guys not only have continued to make it much more usable,(which translates to more valuable) and on top of it I have had one night where you guys assisted me in a very large file I was trying to re-install in another site. This kind of support and generosity is rare and people should quit complaining and pay up for all of the continued support and upgrades. It isn’t like it is a ton of money. And I don’t see an issue with asking for additional small amounts of money for great upgrades, IF YOU WANT TO ADD THOSE UPGRADES.
I am still just using it for a clone plug-in and don’t need the other upgrades, so my $7 usage is fine for me. but If I want to use the new upgrades the price is so small I would do it in a heart beat. You cannot beat the support I have received for free on a $7 purchase.
But I do agree with others, where will it end? I know I got a great deal at $7 and will more than likely upgrade when I have time to attend a webinar and see what all is now offered. I just am not interested in continuing the paid upgrade. A larger one time life time fee would be more of an advantage. Hard to resell a product for you as an affiliate when the price changes so much. That is why so far I have not recommended it to others much.
Guys
I bought the buggy version at $7 and it won’t backup my main site (It says, too big) so I haven;t usued it since.
I think that those that of us that helped finance the ongoing development, should receive some benefit.
I really dislike upsells as it makes me feel that the original product is inferior.
Back in the day, beta testers used to get a free copy of the product for their time and trouble. That doesn’t happen much any more, but there’s typically a discount for those willing to play out on the bleeding edge with software that’s admittedly not quite ready for prime time.
The norm these days seems to be to offer the product at a discount in the “pre-launch” (read beta) phase. The discount varies with the product and is pretty much up to the developer to determine. It does make sense to compensate those willing to test the product in the real world and provide feedback that leads to improvements.
The larger issue is how to price the product as a sustainable business model. Most web software is being offered on a pay-once-get-upgrades-forever model which over the long term may or may not be sustainable. It’s certainly contrary to the Microsoft model and there are more companies going to the yearly licensing model as they realize that an ongoing revenue stream is necessary for long term profitability in any business.
From a consumer’s point of view, I don’t mind paying for additional features that I will use. I really don’t want to pay for features that I’ll rarely, if ever use and that don’t add significant value to the product. The product has a basic functionality for which it exists and as long as the developers get that right, the rest is gingerbread. In any case, the yearly license should be significantly less than the initial cost of the product.
Hi Robert,
I was one of those very early birds and purchased for $7.
I am a little cross at the new ultimate version being more or less pushed upon us … instead of making it a separate product.
I think in all honesty I will have to look elsewhere … where there is not a sudden surprise waiting around the corner as has happened here.
In the first instance, I was seriously considering using J´s product … but yours came along and naturally it seemed a no brainer not to buy your product.
So, it looks as though I will have to go elsewhere … perhaps J´s product, which I really do not want to do … but we shall see after your email survey and the way it goes.
Sorry but you did ask…
Kind Regards
Vic
Spain
I bought BC at the original price and at that time it was very buggy and I had to delete and upload it on several sites with each upgrade. Even though it was a pain it was well worth it for the price and in fact it did save my bacon as 14 of my sites were hacked and I had to completely recover them. Thank the stars for BC as they were fully recovered. But not without some techie difficulties which if I had had the new version I would not have had those difficulties. A week Later you announced the new version and features and my initial reaction was..wow great, this is exactly what I want. I will be happy to pay the difference as it is an awesome product and good vfm.
But, I have to admit to feeling a little uncomfortable in the way it unfolded in that I feel that I was being reeled in. Like most of us I feel it could have been handled a bit better and us Guinea Pigs could have been offered a discount. Having said that it is a great product and well worth the price.
Ok, here you go – to answer your question right above the comments section.
For me it is a resounding “YES” i am much thankful for and appreciate that you released the Ultimate package. Heck, I am so freakin happy — that i am actually creating a full business around it!!!
I think that no matter how you launched it, offered it — you will not please the masses. And as you know that is a part of doing business.
I feel you folks have been transparent in your offers and hope you continue to be.
I sit here and contemplate your dilemma and can only say it is a tough thing to sort out. For there are so many things I could say to the folks that have a complaint. However, I am not sure that it would be wise or appropriate. Not to say I would be rude, just that I would want to point out the flaws in there argument.
And that is not always the right thing to do either.
So, Again, I am pleased you offer it and heck, if it would of cost me another additional $47 dollars I would have probably purchased it.
My question to all the folks that have a complaint is this — How valuable is your content for your wordpress blog???
You see for me, having over 15 wordpress sites right now (and counting) that are completely backed up and this is done automatically is priceless… For it would take me days, weeks to get all those sites back up and running with the content they have today.
And I am not even taking into consideration my time — for that is also important to me….
I thank you folks for providing such a valuable tool that saves me time, money and heartache.
Ok, enough from me……
Bowe
I paid $47 somewhere along the road.
I’ve been buying your products long enough to know you don’t give up on a project till it is the way you would want to have it for your own personal use. Apparently that’s just the way you roll.
So ultimately you end up with a product that is equivalent to “Back Up Buddy” which costs $150.00.
So anyway; lucky me I bought @ $47 and that got the V-2.0 Ultimate for Free. So Ultimately I got the Ultimate version for an Ultimate savings of $103.00 under what it would have cost me to buy Back Up Buddy.
But what If I hadn’t and you started selling v-2.0 for $67 or even $97. I still save $50 bucks over your closest competitors (Quality wise), and all along the way got to watch you listen to your customers and improve your product to “Ready for Prime Time”. That in itself contains some value. Not to mention the Webinars etc.
People in the Warriors are so used to getting things on the cheap, when they are ask to pay what something is actually worth, they can go all whiney baby on ya.
So what I think is you diplomatically tell the Warrior Whiney Babies (Not all Warriors are that way.), to go pound sand, sell Back Up Creator for $97 bucks knowing you are still saving people money.
Just my 2₵ worth you understand but hey, you ask 🙂
Mike C.
P.S.
And BTW – Considering what it does I would have named it “BackUp and RE-Creator”.
An upsell, at Point of Purchase or later, is part of business. Having a sliding scale where early adopters who got a lower price pay more is a slap in the face to those folks who bought in early.
Instead, have a flat rate for all who want to upgrade. (Yes, it’s fair for recent buyers to get the upgrade for free. And no one should end up paying MORE as a result of the upsell than a current buyer.)
Nothing wrong with including n years of support with a product either, as long as buyers know in advance.
I think that you guys make great products with our help. I was an early purchaser and recommended your product even when it had bugs and you were sending updated twice a week. You said three years of support and upgrades. If I’m not mistaken it has not been three years. I would like to have the new version but I think you owe that to those who purchase early because you know that our purchases and the comments we left were free advertisement for you. What support are you providing for the original version? This makes me think twice before buying any other products from you. That said , you have the right to run your business any way you choose.I just expected better from You . If you charge what each person paid for the first version or the $7.00 starting fee you would make most of us happy.
Regards,
Amos
First let me say that I appreciate you for providing a quality functional software that works as advertised, even more so!
I think everyone should be grateful that you are providing a variety of versions of this product. I will be upgrading to the Ultimate when I have need for it.
Thanks
I was an early bird and bought developers right at start. It was definitely buggy but it got better after lots and lots of iterations. Not thrilled about paying more since I’ve supported you in many of your products over the years, etc. To drop another 40 was a bit shocking and disappointing. I think we should receive updates forever – not just for a year or two. I would love to know how much we’re going to continue to need to pay for this plugin — like when will be stop paying for Backup Creator?. It’s getting kind of expensive. I’m thinking I should have used the other one that I paid 77 for and which was just as easy to use and worked without problems from the start. I’m definitely disappointed but it is what it is. This isn’t personal. I still love the work you do!
What a load of hot air about nothing.
I gladly paid my $40 to upgrade my original $7 purchase to this far more functional version. I really don’t understand this, if people don’t see the value in upgrading, then don’t do it peeps.
I was an early adopter and got in @ $17.
I didn’t buy the developers licence as at the time I thought it was a bit steep considering I already had multi-site.
Now ultimate comes out and it has additional features – but will cost $30 + $60 for the developers licence.
I really think that their should be a discount in recognition of the early adopters – they have stuck with the product and are taking the gamble that you are still going to be here in 3 years (and it is a gamble – look at all the other WSO’s support that has been nothing more than vapourware)
The application didn’t exactly work as stated at the start, but people recognized it was under development and stuck with it (in my opinion that customer goodwill hasn’t been recognized with the upgrade arrangements)
I recognize that you are trying to run a sustainable business model – but at the heart of sustainability is recognizing customer loyalty and retaining them.
Now say you came out with new software in the future, and took the same approach – people might not initially buy as they know that they will eventually have to pay full price like any other punter (risk management 101, play it safe, let all the other patsies stump up the original cash and just wait to see if the product has legs before you buy it later on). That could really hit your initial funding to develop the software.
The Software is useful, but there are free pieces of software that do what BackupCreator does (just not as easily) so I really still like the software.
But do I like it enough to stump up $90 for the Ultimate Developers? – not yet, perhaps never.
Wish you all the best and keep going, thanks for the opportunity to provide some feedback – that is genuinely rare in a WSO.
I bought the developer version in the first promotion. I already owned two mainstream widely distributed backup programs that everyone on this thread should recognize. I paid more than double your $47 asking price for Backup Creator Ultimate for one of them, and three times the BC price for the second one. They both were supposed to be the be all end all of backup programs. I bought BC because I was not satisfied with the two programs I already owned. I found both of them to be deficient in one way or another, hence, I bought Backup Creator. It has always worked well for me with no issues, was so simple to use, and backs up all my and my clients sites with not a hick up and one of them is 4gb. You kept it updated and fixed whatever bugs may have been discovered (not by me) very quickly. I am thrilled to now have BC Ultimate. I have been looking forward to this functionality so I can set client accounts on autopilot and no longer have to worry about backing them up.
I think Backup Creator is a high value product that you guys do a great job supporting. You are selling it under market value, but I am not complaining.;-)
In fact, I am not opposed to paying a reasonable annual fee to you guys so you will be able to continue to support the plugin for the long term. I like it that much.
Thanks for a great and reasonably priced product.
Dennis
P.S. This is only the second comment I have made on a product in three years online and I have bought far too many “shiny objects” sold on WF since then.
I recently spent a good many minutes posting my issues about this topic in the members area, but you guys deleted it. It does appear that you at least read it, though. Why didn’t you post it? I don’t know. My complaints were valid, I didn’t hate on anyone and I even gave you guys a compliment (above average IMers).
But as previously stated in this thread, it’s your business and you can run it any way you want – for better or worse. Everyone’s business is like a little dictatorship. They can choose what their “people” are exposed to and what they are not. But that doesn’t mean that the people are ignorant to what’s being held back. We (at least a good percentage of us) KNOW when the Emperor has no clothes…
That being said, I first want to address the question you asked at the end of the post: “did we do the right thing releasing a new version, or should we have stuck to our “original” version that only backed up and restored, and did nothing else?”
Really? That’s the question? Dude, that’s SO the WRONG question! Why not just ask “Should we just create kinda good, mediocre products and services or should we step it up a notch and create kick-ass, excellent ones?” Duh!
Just like asking if it’s evil to have an upsell. If that were the case, commerce as we know it wouldn’t exist. It’s a many thousands of years old practice (NOT started by McDonalds!). Plus, upsells can’t be evil, only people can.
So, as I mentioned in my deleted post, when you guys sat down and wrote out the list of features you wanted the plugin to have in order for it to succeed on the market, SURELY you two very bright guys, with multiple WP blogs and a ton of experience with them, came up with the must-have feature of automatic backups.
And for me, that is the sticking point. Either you didn’t have the foresight to come up with one or more auto-backup features…or you did, and CHOSE to hold it back from your “people” during the initial launch.
And if it IS the latter (as I suspect), there can be no doubt that such intentional deception will register very high on the “less than fully trustworthy” meter of the people you serve. Ideally, a good marketer’s customers teach them almost as much as they teach their customers…
I think that for most of us, it’s not about the money so much – it’s ALL about the process. Gary (above) mentioned the word “stranded” and I previously used the word “hostage”. Nearly the same feeling.
Anyway, hopefully you get the gist of what I’m saying. Yes, you can do whatever you want. It’s your call, 100%.
I just hope you’ll consider the difference between the lifetime value of your loyal customers, versus your non-loyal “incidental” customers…
Peace
Robert,
I too was a little miffed after the webinar. I thought I’d already made the purchase. I went to my membership page and found that I’d need to pay an extra $30 to get the NEW version. I’d purchased the Developer level thinking I’d get all the bells and whistles including upgrades. Live and learn, I guess. Because an extra $30 wasn’t an unreasonable figure considering all it’s features I DID purchase BC again. Let me stress that- I felt I was paying a second time. I didn’t think of this offer as an upsell.
When I’m presented with another offer, if I like and the price is right, I’ll probably buy it. If I’ve got too many questions at the time, I’ll pass.
You asked.
Dan
I was an early customer and bought the $7 version. I was very pleased with that and with the regular bug fixes.
I then bought the developer licence version which I was also hapy to buy.
But I’m not so happy to be expeced to pay for the next upgrade. New customers should pay the full price but I think early supporters should be rewarded with the new version as part of their ongoing support for your business. It doesn’t cost you anything after all.
I would have been perfectly happy to stay at the Dev licence and to be honest, I haven’t looked too closely at the Ultimate as my first thught was – oh no, another upsell.
Anyway, I do appreciate your concern and obvious involvement with your customer base. You are certailnly not a sell and run operator.
Regards
Andrew
IMO, even as an upgrade, this is a different product and for your Warrior list you should have opened a new dimesale with a lower entry price then the $47 bucks for the new version.
I am one of the 7 bucks earlybird clients and do not intend to shell out another 40 bucks cause I don’t look for a upgraded version with additional features.
If I would have had the chance to get it with a discount, I might bite, even if I didn’t had it in my “wish list”.
This makes me think a bit about your next WSO’s, if it’s wise to hop in early or not.
You asked.
G.
I’ve read most of the comments and want to mention a point that seems to have been overlooked. That point is what would have been the development cost to pay testers to actually test and enable you to implement a fully functional product? Instead of it costing you, you actually make money and valuable input (features and functionality making a more robust product than was initially conceived)that will provide a quality product
for possibly years to come.
I know I have been disappointed many times making a purchase that I need and want (beta or not)only to wait weeks or more to have something functional if ever before it is outdated do to the dynamic changes in this area.
As mentioned above many bought the early versions only wanting (needing) that functionality. I agree with Carlos’ recommendation:
Your product is awesome but i concord we few people that beta tested this for you and even gave you feedback and suggestion to improved your product, that you did , but i will say give them 1 year more free of upgrades and fixes and after that year they need to pay, even after the year is over you can give them a coupon for a discount. But this is just my view of this, is your business and product at the end of the day and you manage as you want, is great product you will never have every customer happy, you will loose some and gain new ones.
In today’s world what sets you apart is good/great customer service. The pay the difference approach will make people reluctant to help you in the future.
How many times do we see “new customer” specials? All it does is get more customers. Too few companies reward or show their appreciation to existing customers which could enhance retention. This approach makes a customer “feel” good about doing business with you. Do you want to “retain” and add more customers or constantly just try to get more customers?
It’s your call….
Hi Upsells are excellent, i get that.
Your customers are happy, obviously your landing page is doing what it’s suppose to do. Inform me of your wares.
Three types of buyers.
1 Tyre kickers
2 Browser buyer (maybe)
3 Want it now
the third is (is looking for you anyway)Hello, babe.
the second, maybe open to looking for something new
the first, knows nothing about your stuff.
Hey if your already customers, are happy, cool. Their feed back is testimony and guage for change if you need to.
hope this is ok? Thanks.
One word:
Snapshot.
Hi Robert, I’m not complaining on anything. Your products are always great. The “lesson” I got from this is that there is no need to rush to buy your product in the future, because from this experience, I learnt that I can always buy the upgrade version, without paying more than the early bird.
I’m getting out of consumer software completely because people expect far too much capability and service for absurdly low price points.
A deal is a deal.
Irrespective of what further features are added, those who bought in at the WSO price should not have to pay any more for anything – particularly for “locked in” features they did not need when the initial purchase was made and still do not need.
Anyway, the existing version still “gives up the ghost” when confronted with backing up large blogs with thousands of posts. It still does not work as is with these types of blogs.
So I would be rather miffed if I had to pay more to have my existing version improved – let alone having to pay extra for features I don’t need or want.
Hi Virginia,
Honest question: what are the “locked in” features you are referring to? I don’t feel we “locked in” anybody into anything.
I’m with Tom (above comment). I cannot backup my main site (too big also) and although I asked you about it you had nothing helpful. For me, Backup Creator sounds like a good thing, but I haven’t been able to use it. I think you need to concentrate on keeping happy customers FIRST…then work on the other stuff!
Tom, if you figure out a fix let me know. I will do the same for you.
I’ve been your biggest fan and supporter for years. But I have to say I was disappointed in this move. Why? Because I felt like you pulled a fast one. And it left a bad taste in my mouth.
I have no problem paying for products. I’ve spends thousands of dollars with you. But in every case when I purchased at an early bird price, I got all of the subsequent materials at no additional cost. That’s the advantage of being an early adopter. And particularly in the case of this piece of software, there were a lot of people who had a hard time getting it to work – until you fixed it time and again.
Yes, I totally admire your willingness to fix errors. But I do think that’s part of providing a good product. While you couldn’t foresee all of the variations that multiple hosts would cause, you’ve done a great job of keeping up with them.
And then come the new features. And suddenly I’m asked to pay more – for something I thought I had paid for. If I sell someone a product at an early adopter price, that’s all they ever have to pay – regardless of the updates, upgrades, improvements, etc that I add. It’s my way of saying thank you for trusting me and providing me with working capital and bragging rights on the thousands of people using it. It’s the reason I offer an early adopter price.
While I will happily continue to buy your products – and will probably continue to be one of the first to buy – I’ll definitely slow down to read your terms of service before I click the buy button. That level of blind trust is gone.
Hi Jeanette,
Not to shift the blame, but the mastermind group that you and I are both in told us to do the “separate” version and the upgrade pricing.
We asked about most of the things being offered here… do we offer the new version for free, do we only charge $10.
At first they said to charge everyone, but in the end it came down to… if they paid $47 give it to them for free, if they paid something less, have them pay the difference “if” they want to upgrade.
We never promised any of the new features (automatic backup, FTP, or email) in the $7 version, $17 version, $27 version, or $37 version. It was never mentioned. For a while actually refused to even consider those features because we wanted to keep the software simple.
I have to divide my response into 2 parts. As one who has bought far more IM stuff than I should, I really dislike point of sale up sells. Even though the main product is supposed to work on its own, the copy is always slanted to make you feel lie it will not perform as well without the up sell. I would prefer that the product be allowed the time to prove itself and if so I would be the first in line to buy the up sell.
Now to address Back Up Creator; This is a software upgrade and I don’t see it as much as an up sell. For me it is only $10 to upgrade which I feel is reasonable. Also the product has had time to prove itself, even though I have not had time to try it out yet, others have and is sounds like it has proven itself.
Just my thoughts. From a not very successful marketer (yet).
I was also one of the first buyers from WSO
with free updates. At the moment I don’t need
the extras in Ultimate so I won’t upgrade for now.
I will do fine with v.2.0, but are you stil supporting
it? IMHO you should differ the price in two:
One for new customers. Two for old custumers who
upgrades in the versions like 2 to 3.
I have several softwares that works this way:
You upgrade to a discunted price.
Cheers
Gunnar
Hi Gunnar,
Yes, we are still supporting (and updating) both versions and will continue to for a minimum of three years, as originally promised.
Great product–I paid $17. Good software requires maintenance, so I’m will to pay additional to get an improved up-to-date version. It’s still quite reasonable for the features you provides.
Frankly, I think you should automatically upgrade all those people the bought it, regardless of the price, and charge the $47 … or more … to new purchasers
Since this sale is being done after the product was purchased, it’s not really an upsell to those who own it, is it?
I am intending to buy the Backup Creator later this week when I get paid so my comment is not one from an early adopter. I would have loved to have had the earlier version at the entry level price because I could have used it for the last months. Paying the higher price for the better version would not have bothered me if I had known that for the lesser price I was getting something that might have some kinks to work out but was getting the beneft of it sooner rather than later (but I am a glass.not only half full but overflowing kind of person). Not being computer sophisticated, working with a beta version would have been a challenge but one I would have chosen to embrace for the low entry price the ability to have it that much sooner. I am craving it and can see so many uses for it as I type.
BUT to make your business rave, keeping customers YOU WANT to keep may in the long run be.more important than the price difference. While I believe you are entitled to barge a higher price for a.different version unless you had offered the beta AND updates, if you want to keep those early adopter as customers, why be portrayed as the villain when you can be the hero and give it to them?
IMHO, your products are too good to spend your energy focusing on whether you are wearing a cape or cloak. Keep the early adopters happy; you may need to beta test your next genius idea soon!
If your product works and functional. I would pay for it.
happily accept that.
If your product is as above. I would pay for it with extra features.
happily accept that.
As a computor user, I like my stuff where I can find it, and it works and functions, if I need help from the owner good.
If I owned the product I would accept
incoming appraisals, address any nonfunctional issues, gladly, if any nonfunctional issues? RARE.
If your product works. halleluya. PRICE not an issue.
Guys, I bought on the Warrior forum for $7. I have done most of my own troubleshooting and have to say the support has been subpar. I have two (2) open tickets in your help system that were never responded to. WE ended up recoding and fixing the issues ourselves. our sites are heavy traffic and highly monetized. You asked for and I granted admin access to my wordpress and cpanel installations. As I have a very complex wordpress install with theme/child theme and heavy traffic as well, this was something we could not wait to get fixed. We hired our own programmers to troubleshoot and track down the issues with compatibility we were having and we even SHARED that information with you – the source code fix/corrections. NO REPLY. not even a Thank you.
Two (2) problems here – you are using the Warrior Forum to troubleshoot and test/refine your product prior to a wide launch – and no compensation for contributions especially when you require the payment of the price differential (removing the original incentive to beta test.) Second, the ‘features’ you ‘added’ are less than spectacular and are hardly worthy of the extra money – when anyone with basic knowledge of CRON, FTP, or MAIL could accomplish the same thing with little trouble.
That being said, for the initial $7, you gave us a good head start with a mechanism to ‘backup’ a wordpress site – so it was a bit like buying a broken down car knowing we had to fix it ourselves. Well, you get what you pay for huh?
Hi Ethan,
Thanks for your reply.
1. You weren’t a beta tester
2. I just found your ticket and found the specific fix for that specific plugin you used, and made a patch to Backup Creator to work around it. It will be in the next release – version 2.0.0i or later (Lite users and Ultiamte users will both get it obviously)
3. We are still breaking in our new support person (Jason) and looking at the ticket, he was confused because you asked to be given a free Developer’s license as “compensation” for finding a conflict with your plugin — which wouldn’t be fair to those who actually paid money for a Developer license.
FTP, email and auto backups were not worth the extra money? I’ll put you down as one of the people who voted we should not have released the Ultimate version, then.
Yea, I hate upsells!!!I purchased right at the beginning and I was upset about having to pay for upgrades when, what I originally purchased (6 months ago) was supposed to include upgrades for 3 years. I couldn’t really afford it, because it was between pension pay days and I am on a strict budget. But I had to because the upgrade rendered the original purchase useless now. Anyway I am hoping that this is the end to the expenditures.
Hi Patricia,
We are still updating, and will be updating, the plugin for 3 years.
If you are on a budget then you can still backup manually, FTP manually, or email manually until you can find it in the budget to upgrade. But you definitely do not “have” to upgrade — both versions still work just fine.
The comment I identify most with is “If I upgrade now for $40, and pay $47 total, I lose my $7 early bird discount.” There does seem something intrinsically wrong with offering early adopters a discount and then having them end up paying the same as everyone else for the upgraded version.
As far as I’m concerned, I have the same product now as everyone else but I have to pay $40 for the new version instead of $10. What I paid for it originally is irrelevant.
And when does an “update” become an “upgrade”? As a buyer it seems fairly arbitrary to me; as a coder you no doubt see it very differently – I have no issue with that.
How else could you have done it? Maybe ask everyone who already owned Back Up Creator to pay $10 to upgrade would be a solution. That way those who bought for less than $37 maintain the advantage of buying early.
Hi Robert,
I too, will echo some of the same sentiments I’ve read above, but only after saying I have NOT bought Backup Creator or Backup Creator Ultimate as of now.
In fact, I have stopped purchasing WSO’s because of a couple of issues.
First is that there are a lot of products being offered there that are in the “beta” stages of development and I understand that offering it as a WSO finances the required fixes and further development. The issue that I have is that there appears to be very little in the way of “loyalty” to those that helped finance and test the development.
Secondly, there is a lot of “junk” being sold from the Warrior Forum and it doesn’t do me or the seller any good when I request a refund because the sales said something, and the product doesn’t quite live up to the billing. I’ve never known any of your products to be “junk”, but from what I’ve read, it’s a good thing I did not buy early as some of the sites I would have tried to use it on, are actually quite large and apparently they would not have been backed up with the software. I don’t remember there being any warnings at all about any “size limitations” in any sales literature or webinars. I’m just glad I did not allocate my resources to something that was designed not to work on what I would have needed it to work on.
Again, I’ve not known any of your other products to be bad, junk or misleading in any way, but I do believe you might have missed the mark on this one.
Reward the early testers/investors and tell us what the product will NOT do as well as what it Will do.
Roger
I always wondered “where’s the rat” of early birds … now I see.
I bought the bird just after the first webinar, for $7. After several tests to run it on my server, including beta tester feedback, it still does not work today.
Maybe I’d pay $ 20 more to give the software a try since it’s an great concept … but not the full price just to be there when it finally does the job, going on testing… The actual price is unfair to those who have tried so many versions in between.
And I agree with someone earlier: the concept of “early bird” has been tarnished. In the future, I´ll consider twice buying inmediately, maybe better waiting for others to investigate for me, and then buy at higher price.
It will indeed be a great value for $47… if it works!
Hi Javier,
We did not have beta testers, and this isn’t the place to talk about support, but I’m looking at the support ticket on Nov. 4th when we coded around some issues specific to your web host. We asked you to try out the latest version and you didn’t respond.
We are not asking for $20 or even $0.01, the latest version “should” work with your web host (Strato Ag) but we have no way of knowing unless you try it.
Ok – so I am a business guy and love to save money as much as anyone and have even been known to whine a little to save some money. But I look at it this way, everything has a value to someone and your product has good value to me.
If you came to me and said “Doug, we are putting a few guys + gals together to make a cool addition to Backup Creator but we need 20 buckaroos from each of you to make it happen.” I would have said those are cool features, the product has good value and count me in.
Any way you slice it, and what ever anybody paid, the product is a great value and I am glad to pay for the upgrade. Feel free to think up some other cool stuff that backup creator can do and nick me for another Jackson.
And for the people that paid $7.00 and think the upgrade is too much, they do not need to upgrade. Come on people – they call us Warriors, not Whining Wimps.
Thanks,
Doug ;~)
Robert,
You just told Wendy you are available to fix her problem. Which is identical to mine. I have sent numerous tickets in and all I can get is “my site is too large”. I agree with another comment that the site size was never advertised as a limit. No problem if you guys can fix it but apparently you can’t.
I’m glad to see now that I wasn’t the only one with this problem that never got resolved.
Mark
Hi Mark,
1. You saw my reply to Wendy where I said if there is a problem, please put in a ticket instead of posting here, this is not the place to ask for support
2. Without getting too technical, here is the exact issue: some of the older Hostgator servers are “32-bit.” The newer ones are “64-bit.” If you are on an old 32-bit host, the backup will work fine unless your WordPress site is over 4GB in size. If that is the case then the server literally cannot create a file that is 4GB in size, no matter what we do
3. If you look in the ticket, we specifically told you to ask Hostgator to move your account from the 32-bit machine it’s on to a 64-bit machine… which they can do, which only they can do, and once they do, your backups larger than 4GB in size will work without any problems
Please, do not post here about support issues that Lance, Jason and I have already replied about — thanks again.
Guys and girls
Although I purchased backup creator at the original $7 price I happily paid for the ultimate price, as I believe my websites are worth a lot more than I paid to protect them.
In terms of your pricing structure, remember always to make it an irresistible offer and at $7 at was just that. Personally I hate the whole scarsity selling tactic. Be clear and be upfront and stand behind a quality product with lifetime support and upgrades.
You guys have a great product… Don’t loose your momentum over price and positioning. I charge a lot more per hour than the price of the product so therefore writing (in terms of time) costs more than the purchase.
As long as the software remains fully supported and upgraded I support you in your quest to help others protect sites and make money along the way…
My opinion… Don’t get greedy though, just spoil your exisiting customers and they will refer so many more. Remember sometimes it’s better to get $1 from a million people rather than trying to get $1m from 1 person… Food for thought. 😉
My hat is off to you for asking the question, but I’m surprised the way you worded it “should you have released a new version?” No doubt about it, never a question. The only question is who gets charged and how much. And the only answer is “when in doubt, err on the side of your customers”… period. Obviously a lot of people are not happy with your policy. Jennette Cates was the BIG standout to me after she has been such a huge proponent of yours. And to come out and state publicly that she will be watching you closer… oouuch! On a different note, I bought it, upgraded to developer, and I love the new features. BUT… Take NOTE! I BOUGHT it already. I love you guys and I love your devotion, but stop trying to sell it to me already!!! I BOUGHT IT!! Stop with the emails. I really want to stay subscribed for when there’s something else I may be interested in… BUT you make it
VERY hard when I’ve received what seems like hundreds of email from both you and Lance (I know it’s not hundreds, but it seems like it!) Move me to the customer list and off the prospect list already!! PLEASE!!!
Hi Charles,
We don’t have a separate prospect list and buyer’s list. Sometimes when we have something to say, we send it to everybody. You can still jump off the list, if you want.
As far as the “I bought it” argument… I’m looking at Tim Jensen’s comment — buying (and upgrading) Microsoft Office.
– If I bought Office 2007, does it still work? Yes.
– Do I get all the features of Office 2010? Of course not.
– Do I have to pay for the upgrade? Only if you want the new features, but Office 2007 will never break in the meantime.
It seems like the early buyers were confused on what the term updates versus new features meant. It appears they thought it meant new features. If you said bug fixes and updates for 3 years, what is an update versus a bug fix? That is probably the confusion. My “guess” is that an update would be that when an update to wordpress came out, you would update the plugin to work with the new version of wordpress. Others obviously thought that update meant new features as well.
Another thing the early buyers seem to be confused on is that they are not required to update to this new version in order for their plugin to still function and have bug fixes and updates. They can still use it and get updates to it, just not the new features.
Perhaps a better explanation of terms would have helped clear up the confusion. You guys always put out a great product, so I know the confusion wasn’t intentional on your part to get more money later.
Lance
Hi “other” Lance,
Having read every single comment here, I think that is going to be the #1 action to come out of these events. Clearly stating up front that there will be no new features, just updates — although I thought that was clear, but we’ll state it more clearly this time.
We never said we would be adding any of the new features. So if we hadn’t added the new features, people with the “Lite” version who paid under $47 (who haven’t upgraded yet) would still be in the same position they are now.
I guess that’s where things still aren’t making sense to me. Most of the responses to that point have been, “Just give it to me for free or I’ll be angry with you.”
HI Robert,
I agree word for word with what Isobel says above.
I got the $7 early bird and had issues – I didn’t keep updating each time because to be honest I just felt I couldn’t rely on the backup to work consistently. Sometimes it LOOKED like it was working and then had an error at the last minute. So I ended up buying backup buddy instead. It wasn’t worth my time to be chasing it up.
Now, the new version does look like something I’d want. Backup buddy is a pain because you need to fiddle around with ftp. Backup creator does it in one click (when it works). Auto backups and email backups sound great. If it was a $10 upgrade (ie everyone paid $10 whether you bought it for $37 or $7 originally) I’d be in.
As it is though I just don’t have the trust in the product, if I buy I’ll take a backup buddy backup as an extra backup until I was confident that your plugin works reliably.
I’m still deciding if its worth it to pay the upgrade costs for the possibility of auto backups etc or just stick with backup buddy.
So, I’m on the fence and I wouldn’t be on the fence if it was a flat price upgrade for everyone who purchased.
I also thought at some point along the line I got the dev version, but perhaps I’m mistaken on that. My membership says I didn’t…
I hope this makes sense.
Kind Regards
Marama
Early buyers believed they would be getting free upgrades for 3 years. Now we see that this turns out to be untrue.
It’s easy to make promises about the future, to help increase sales at the moment… but it’s much harder to keep them once the future arrives, especially when you realize that keeping those promises is tougher than you thought it would be.
You can justify all you want about why this should be “different” or why your original promise shouldn’t apply — your customers are likely to care less about your “reasons” than the fact that they believe that you are not keeping your original promise.
As has already been stated several times in the comments above, many of us will be less likely to trust you in future… even if we sympathize somewhat with your predicament.
When we buy at an early price, we tend to feel good about that buying decision — even if there are issues that need to be resolved. If we then later find out that the early price advantage will be negated, then we no longer feel good about the purchase (ESPECIALLY if there were issues that we had to suffer through) — in fact, we are likely to feel betrayed. And the greater the price difference, the greater our sense of betrayal.
Is the upgrade price worth it? Certainly for some, probably not for others, depending on their individual needs.
#1 lesson to be learned: Do not make promises that you might not be able to keep.
#2 lesson to be learned: Realize that if you don’t keep promises (that may have been well-intended, but you discover you can no longer keep for whatever reason), then don’t be surprised if your customers will feel betrayed (no matter how logical and justified your reasons sound to you).
#3 lesson to be learned: Just by slapping some new label such as “Ultimate” to your product will not appease those who believe they were promised the upgraded product.
Tom,
You said: “Just by slapping some new label such as “Ultimate” to your product will not appease those who believe they were promised the upgraded product.”
But that’s the thing… we didn’t promise the updated product and everyone can continue using what they have.
When I open up Office 2007 and it says there are “updates available” and it updates, am I mad that it hasn’t changed to Office 2010? No.
When I run the updates for Windows Vista — does it change to Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows Vista Ultimate? Nope, it updates the current version I have to keep it working.
When I update my iPad 2 does it become an iPad 3? When I update Camtasia 6 does it become Camtasia 7?
Basically, are you saying we should have named “Backup Creator Ultimate” something else that didn’t have the words “Backup Creator” in it?
Charging for a NEW version that contains NEW features is completely fine. If people don’t want the new features, they can continue using the version they have.
It’s similar to Windows, Camtasia or so many other pieces of software we’re used to purchasing from bigger companies. If you don’t want the new version, then you can continue using what you have.
(and as Robert said, they will continue supporting the older versions for the time they specified when they launched – I think that was 3 yrs?).
—
Updates for EXISTING versions however should be provided free (if that’s what was sold at the time of purchase).
This includes fixes for bugs, server patches etc.
However it’s unfair to think that “updates” should be provided for free… for life (unless that was promised). Updates for a certain period of time (1 yr, 2 yrs etc) is what generally accompanies software purchases.
If you want updates after that, then you should expect to pay extra (many times that means purchasing the product again).
However, if you can cut existing customers a break on price, then it makes the buying decision easier and you’re able to reward existing customers for their loyalty.
With that said, this type of offer should only be for a limited time – after which, the price returns back to normal for existing customers.
—
So the important piece in this whole equation is the distinction between NEW features and EXISTING updates… and then managing expectations accordingly.
Based on the confusion, my guess is that people are not clear on the difference between the two and therefore feel entitled to whatever is “new” – updates or new features.
—
For what it’s worth, I know both Robert and Lance were not out for a “quick buck” with this update and they stand by their products (as evidenced by the endless number of fixes they’ve been cranking out for everyone’s specific server setup). I think sometimes we as customers should take a step back and put things into perspective.
They’ve created a kick-butt piece of software that provides you as the business owner tremendous security in that if your site ever goes down, with just a few clicks you can have everything back up again.
Not having that could mean a VERY painful process of trying to recover any of what you had before the crash – something that we’d all be willing to pay a LOT more than $47 to fix if it were to happen (just saying).
Robert
I bought early and got the developers license. I just upgraded to the ultimate version making the total I paid $47. I do not have a problem with that it is a drop I the bucket for what it does. I paid 97 for backup buddy for a one year license and this is a far better product with more uses. Some software I own I have to pay upwards of 800 for a new version so 40 is nothing.
People always want something for nothing and just my .02 these are not the customers you want any way. They are the ones that complain the most and refund the most. If you are not happy with the produt then stop using it and stop complaining. You get what you pay for. If you want something for nothing then expect nothing. If you want something cheap then do not expect much. If you get what you paid for you are good if you get more than you paid for all the better.
People have to make a living and developing software this complex is not a quick task. If Robert truly charged for the time he and lance spent developing it none of the complainers would be buying it.
Bottom line if you do not like paying for the upgrade then stop complaining don’t buy the upgrade. If you are happy with the upgrade switcher it cost you nothing or an extra 40 bucks be happy you have a good product that helps you and move on. There are other more important things in life that to complain about a 47 piece of software that can save you so much time and give you piece of mind knowing your site is backed up.
Hi Robert,
I read every comments because I want to learn how do you deal with this.
I think it is perfectly fine to charge for the upgrade version. Charging a flat rate would be a better choice because it will keep everyone happy.
What you just did had “educated” your loyal customers not to buy your stuff impulsively in the future because they learn that eventually, you are going to ask for the same amount of money from everyone, no matter they buy the product sooner or later. If this kind of upgrade offer is repeated in the future, nobody would like to be the early birds because that makes them feel like a fool.
I won’t be buying your product because it is going to increase in price. I will eventually wait until I really need it. In term of sales revenue, I think this is the downside you’ll have to deal with.
Hi KC, do you base your buying decisions on whether or not you paid the same as other customers you will probably never have any contact with? (honestly asking)
Hi Robert,
Early buyers show faith in YOU, the seller & creator of the product. It makes all of us feel good to save money on something. I agree with some of the commenters and disagree with others, but you asked for our opinions and so we’re giving them freely. (No charge for upgrades)
I, personally, would like to see flat-fee upgrades, regardless of what someone paid originally (think MS and TechSmith companies as examples). To force everyone to pay current prices is painful and reduces the value of being an early bird who trusted you & bought on ‘blind faith’ basically.
An option you didn’t offer us was an upgrade from personal use product to developer product, that is something I would strongly consider if I didn’t have to pay the full price for it.
Good luck with your decision making… and thank you for all your great stuff I’ve bought over the years.
Warm regards,
Donna
Hi Donna,
1. I didn’t think there was that much of a difference between $10 and $30, but because that point has been brought up so much, we will try to make that model work if it comes time to charge for a newer version of one of our products
2. Many people keep mentioning this term “blind faith” in buying from me — I’m glad they also remembered that WP Drip used to cost $47 for an unlimited site license (and is now $97 almost three years later and has over 100 new features all provided for free), that Action PopUp once cost $7 (4 1/2 years ago) and that was before it also ran as a WordPress plugin, interfaced with Wishlist, had a visual editor and was coded around conflicts with over 500 sites, themes, and plugins 😉
3. Upgrade to developer version — we removed that option because it was too confusing. The way it is now, if you are a “Lite” member (paid less than $47) you can upgrade to Ultimate and THEN the option to also become a Developer is there. Many people were confused previously and after simplifying the funnel in that way, it made sense to them
4. Also, since we’re on the subject of MS Office and upgrades, here’s something to think about. There is no “upgrade price” for Office 2010. They decided that this time around, if you want Office 2010 and already own Office 2007, you just have to buy it. Interesting.
How about this… is it a nice surprise to get things at a discount? Sure. Is it great to get new features that weren’t promised, for free? Of course.
But should you expect those things every single time? Should you feel entitled? Is it still special?
Had a whole big thing typed out, then Stu posted saying it before I did so, “what Stu said”
I was confused at first after listening to the webinar – pro changed to developer, Backup Creator was now Backup Creator Ultimate (but it really isn’t, they are two separate things) and didn’t know what I had or where I stood. Finally got it straight. There are 4 levels
Backup Creator (lite) (can not be purchased now)
Backup Creator (lite) Developer (can not be purchased now)
Backup Creator Ultimate (replaced BC for new purchases)
Backup Creator Ultimate Developer (replaced BCD for new purchases)
Backup Creator is still a fully functional godsend of a program and the $7 I paid for it with all the support, training, updates and tweaks is a ridiculous steal.
Now, if I would like to have the new additional features/equipment that have been created, I have to purchase them. Like with my computer… it came with a built in mic and speakers so I can make recordings all day long if I want – just as I can backup and restore manually with BC all day long if I want. BUT If I want clearer, controlled, easier, more convenient recordings, I have to buy a headset – and if I want the convenience of the auto backup and e-mail and FTP thingies, I have to purchase it.
I read all the emails you send out – and I tracked what was going on with BackupCreator and it’s completely consistent with what you guys always do – and that is market forward with introductory pricing and plenty of warning to subscribers about price increases – no problem.
Backup creator is a great product – I bought it somewhere in the middle – great job.
It’s always mystified me why anyone would spend the time to bitch about pricing on anything sold online.
The free plugin world is dominated by Trekkies who dont’ understand profitability and thus are always broke.
P.S. I love the crazy names you guys come up for things – if you come up with a brilliant upgrade for Ultimate – what will you call it?
Super-Size Ultimate II ???
LOL
I have to say that unfortunately, you have handled this just like the majority of Internet Marketers handle their business. I purchased this blindly on Dr. Jeanette Cates’ recommendation. At the time I did not know enough about Internet Marketing to make a judgement call one way or another. All I know, is that it crashed my computer system and that was something I had to fight for months, before having to pay a small fortune to have a professional come in to fix it.
So not only did it tarnish you and Lance in my mind, but also created a bit of tarnish for Jeanette – for a few months. I got over the Jeanette issue and chalked it up to AF marketing at it’s worse – the two of you however are still on my Think Hard Before You Buy List.
I appreciate your youth,your knowledge and your power in the good ole boy network of marketers. It’s just not my cup of tea when it comes to marketing and making sales.
Unfortunately, the changes I have noticed in your selling techniques and the insane amount of product you are throwing into the market place do not create a high confidence level in my personal opinion.
I absolutely HATE up sells and ignore them at all costs. In fact, nothing will back me out of a purchase faster than an up sale offer. And yes, I have been told countless times by the big-time IM Marketers that I am way too sensitive and not greedy enough to be in this business.
I’m thinking work on the customer service issues for a few months before rolling out another million dollar product. I have a friend that has been waiting for an issue to be resolved since the first week of December 2011.
I do appreciate the chance to share my feelings. Maybe there is hope for quality customer service and recognition over greed after all. Oh, and look below, yet another option to say YES to something…un-tic. Sorry.
Ultimate is not an upgrade in my opinion but a new software (like MS-Dos and Win-95). People who were happy with their $7-$37 version should just continue using it and forget about the new software.
Simple really: Buy or Don’t Buy. But don’t bitch, complain, and buy. Keep your money in your pocket, save yourself the mental grief, buy a starbucks jumbo latte, and take a chill pill.
The ultimate gives users more convenience while the previous version means you have to log in and manually run it. In this world, people pay for comfort and convenience (Mercedes vs Kia).
Done.
Ps. And yes, I did put my tech issues in here because my opinion and my time is valuable to me. didn’t think I was going to fill in this form for nothing did you?
Cheers,
v.
Robert,
When you buy Office 2007, it also does not say you get free upgrades for 3 years…
Just sayin’.
Tom
Hi Tom, you’re right. They are not upfront with you about 3 years the way we were. Microsoft decides to hide it in the fine print:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/products/lifecycle
According to the “end of support” table on that page, they will no longer support Windows Vista in just 30 days from now. Interesting!
Hi Robert, it really doesn’t matter how much I paid compared to other people. I just learnt from your teaching about rewarding the early birds. This tactic you just used looks contradicting. It doesn’t make your customer “feel” good about buying your product although your product is great and undervalued.
I think this is the single most important thing you can learn from this issue. You are asking our opinion why people complain? I am not complaining. I just want to show you what you can learn from this event because I am not sure if you “catch” it, after reading all your response to the comments.
I sincerely hope that you realized why some people complained. Isn’t that your purpose of writing this post? Or you just want to justify that people shouldn’t complain?
“When I open up Office 2007 and it says there are “updates available” and it updates, am I mad that it hasn’t changed to Office 2010? No.
When I run the updates for Windows Vista — does it change to Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows Vista Ultimate? Nope, it updates the current version I have to keep it working.”
Hi Robert,
Personally I buy music software all the time. Namely Protools, Cubase, Reason and a few others.
Now when I buy these software programs I get free updates for a varying degree of time. When they release a new version, I do NOT pay the same price as someone who buys it new.
People who paid $47 for backup creator are essentially getting this new product free. In order for me to get this new product I have to pay what they paid for the product which is like totally unfair to early adapters of backup creator.
That’s generally how it is for all software products. If you already own it you pay a discount on the upgrade regardless of what you paid for the original version that you own. Therefore I shouldn’t have to make up the difference in what I paid in order to get the new product.
Where’s the benefit in being an early adapter if we eventually will have to pay the same price as everyone else to get your upgrade?
I agree with other posters who believe there should be a flat rate and not simply a “make up the difference” cost.
With all that being said, you’re entitled to charge whatever you want, and I ain’t mad at ya. However, you should have just charged me $47 from the get go instead of offering me some supposed early adapter discount.
New version is a good idea. If the new version came about because of “beta testers”, than the “beta testers” should be rewarded in some way.
Seems as if it was a combined effort of both you, the product developer, and us, the beta testers. Both sides should be rewarded. You get to release the product, at a much higher price, to the public that now works good and has good features. We got to get in early at a discount and help you work out the bugs, implement new ideas and get updates.
If you lived up to your promise, than what you do after that, should be up to you.
We had no beta testers. Many of the bug fixes came about because many people had, let’s call them, “difficult” server settings — set deliberately because these web hosts were on shared servers and they did not want people running backups. A backup involves dumping a whole database, running checks on a while database, compressing huge files… many web hosts do not want that. We basically had to “outsmart” many of these server settings.
Because these peoples’ web hosts were incompatible at first (until we fixed them a few days later after several hours of work on mine & Lance’s end) they decided to call themselves “beta testers.” Also, none of these “beta testers” helped us test any of the new features we released in the Ultimate version.
Hi Robert,
I believe you have got your upgrade pricing structure completely wrong. Everyone who bought the standard Backup Creator paid for just that (Backup Creator with I believe 3 years of updates). It doesn’t matter whether they paid $7 or $47, that is what they bought.
Now you bring out an upgraded version with more bells and whistles (ie an enhanced product), there should be an upgrade path for all users, but it should be the same amount for existing users. Those who bought early got the better price ($7, getting in early at a good price, which gets you a lot of buyers and enables you to get a lot of testimonials, which then enables you to sell at a higher price – that’s what WF is all about), but it’s the same product that those who paid say $37 and to me that is why everyone including myself feel miffed (to use the MS example the everyone has been using… MS don’t send me out an email to say that because I bought my previous version of Windows off eBay for a really good price that I have to pay more than those who bought it at full price from a standard retailer to upgrade to the next version… that would be crazy and it is no different than what you have done. You have discriminated against those who were early adaptors and got your product at the cheapest price.
Lesson for everyone obviously is not to buy Robert Plank’s products on WF until they have gone through all bug fixes etc, as there may be good chance that you will end up paying full price anyway if they upgrade to a newer enhanced version…. which is a pity, because then you won’t get as much feedback, because there would not be as many users.
Anyway, that’s my two bobs worth.
I’m hoping that you will still support the original Backup Creator for the 3 years.
Best of luck in the future.
BTW, I do give you a credit for opening this discussion up to your list.
Cheers, Chris
Hi Robert,
I’ve read all the comments, and in my opinion (as an early adopter who provided feedback and had to uninstall, reinstall, and try again several times with all the revisions, but was happy with the product right from the start and knew these “growing pains” were par for the course as an early bird), how it all hit me has already been expressed by others. Probably most close as expressed by Jeanette.
However, Stu really hit the nail on the head. The bottom line is all about expectations. I gladly bought the developers license when you first offered it, and was also thrilled for the new automatic features, since I had been eagerly anticipating that. What surprised me was that I had to pay the difference between my original price and the current price.
For some reason, I had expected that the early adopters, or anyone who had bought backup creator before the new features were added, would get them. In fact, I remember recently an e-mail asking us for some last-minute feedback about our hosting companies, in anticipation of making sure everything was all set for the new features. It felt as though we were a part of the new features that were going to be rolled out. For some reason, I had the impression that we were supposed to receive those. My bad.
I still did not hesitate long, however, because as it person running a real business, AND someone who also understand how large software companies deal with revisions versus upgrades/new versions (I am a QuickBooks trainer and consultant) it is spot on that this new version would have a price tag.
Bottom line: the problem comes down to communication and expectations. There’s nothing wrong with charging for a new and improved version, there just may have been a better way to communicate it, especially ahead of time to your existing customers. I did not agree with the sliding scale for the early adopters. It should have just been a flat price either discounted or full price for the new version.
All that being said, I absolutely LOVE Backup Creator, and will continue to use it and recommend it to my clients. 🙂
Hi Chris,
People seem to keep going back to the Microsoft examples (including you with the upgrade path) so I looked up the upgrade path for Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007 — since they no longer offer an upgrade path for 2010.
Office 2007 Standard Full price = $399
Office 2007 Standard Upgrade price = $239
Office 2003 Standard Full price = $399
Office 2003 Standard Upgrade price = $239
If someone bought 2003, then upgraded to 2007… they would have paid $399 + $239 = $638.
Hi. I love Backup Creator and am happy to have the Ultimate Backup Creator now. All of this drama is too much for me. I figure you can charge anything you want for your own product. It someone doesn’t like it, they don’t have to buy it.
Just my opinion,
Carole
I wasn’t a buyer although from experience in some memberships Ive been in, if you get an early bird and a new version/upgrade is released and you were offering the early bird as a beta test or to trial your product and iron out any problems, then to be totally fair its a welcoming gesture to offer the upgrade at no extra charge to existing buyers who tested your stuff for you.
And you are then sure your not agitating your existing members – and they will probably love you even more – on edge ready to buy your next membership product.
On the other hand you could lose a few riled customers who would have possibly been repeat buyers.
Its a trade off I suppose – depends on if you want more ‘sweet customers’ for longevity or more immediate upsells.
You probably can afford to agitate a few buyers since your probably weeding out the small spenders right at the gate who are not prepared to pay the additional $20-$30 to upgrade. You must already have your $10,000 product in process!? :o)
Hi Robert,
You seem to be missing my point.
Why do different people have to pay different amounts to upgrade to the new version? The upgrade is the same ‘upgrade’ for every owner. I don’t have a problem at all about there being a cost to upgrade… it is only fair (if you don’t get payment, you cannot keep improving the product).
It is the discrimination against the early adpators (the ones who got a good price for being for taking the chance and buying early on WF).
All software companies charge for upgrades, but it is certainly not based on whether someone managed to buy it cheaper than someone else.
Here is an axample of what I probly would have done for this first upgrade:
$10 upgrade for everyone upto where people paid $37 and free for those who paid $47.
The effect of this is two fold. People are not going to be so miffed (for want of another saying) and a lot more people would upgrade giving you the extra income you would be looking for.
Cheers, Chris
Any time you do business you have to lay everything out on the table first. You state what you are offering and not offering, up front. It is like any contract. If you know up front that you are beta testing it, then it would be up to you to state that this is a beta test and any future upgrades would or would not be included. Have them sign and date the agreement.
I look at it also from the opposite side, when you purchase something and once you pay for it the price keeps going up or the fees. Some where you just need to state what your intentions are, then it will be their choice to purchase it. Reminds me of the guy who buys gas at one side of the town and then drives 10 miles to find out he could have saved $20. If you know what you are going into from the beginning, there shouldn’t be this problem. In my opinion you have every right to charge, discount, add, take off the market at your choice. Hope this helps.
Hi Robert,
I appreciate the fact that you decided to ask this question. How to answer. Here is my experience with your sales process my my reactions to it.
1) I bought in at $7 when you first released it on WF, based on my impressions of you and Lance at that time and the products I had already purchased. Receiving this email caused me to remember that I was meaning to get the ultimate upgrade which I meant to do last week (4 days ago)when I got the developer upgrade. I didn’t purchase the ultimate upgrade immediately because I was still thinking thru the benefits and if I needed them or not.
Over the weekend I thought about the offer and decided that yes the benefits were worth the upgrade to ultimate and so had that on my to do list for the week. I was actually sitting here this morning listening to your video about making money with backup creator when I got the email. I got the link for the video last week and just had a chance this morning to listen to it.
So I decided to go over to the site to take care of buying the ultimate upgrade. I was annoyed to find that you had raised the price for the ultimate upgrade from $30 to $40 just since about Thursday. On Thursday I bought the developer rights for what you are now calling backup creator “lite”. I was annoyed then to find that you had raised the developer price about $15 since I had been there last – since your previous email not to long ago.
Is your product worth it? I don’t know but it looks good and I’m just in the begining stages of putting backup creator and your ideas related to it into action. Also, I have the highest regard for your intellect and clarity regarding all things IM – which is why I am disregarding my initial emotional reactions to the sales tactics employed around the release and upgrade process.
I found the whole ramping up of the price and the versions and that very annoying. I don’t really care about the final price point. At this point in my life I want things simpler and without hassle. Of course it is the sellers perogative to use whatever sales process they see fit – I’m not argueing with that.
I can tell you that as a consumer and especially a consumer of IM products I am sick of the bullshit. The otos, the upsells and all the little shenanigans that make my life more stressfull. That’s my opinion about that whole marketing style and I’m not alone and I know there is a backlash developing that will catch the oto hounds out at some point and they will be penalized.
My only gripe with you about the upgrade/ultimate/lite thing is constant price increase. I know it’s a standard marketing fashion ploy but it feels bad and is getting old. It’s like getting slapped, especially if one is unable to bark on cue, for whatever reason.
In this instance it took me a couple of days to think thru the ultimate thing and before that a little longer to come to a conclusion about the benifit of developers rights. As a customer training regime perhaps the price rise thing has merit from a marketers point of view. From a customers point of view it leaves a sour taste and worse.
Do you understand? I am ok with the rest of your offering – the member site is efficient and works well, your communications are clear and from all I can see at this point the product is great and I will be using it.
In thinking this thru as we speak and trying to come up with a constructive suggestion to offer, I think that I would have had no problems at all if you had put precise dates and deadlines for changes and give enough time people to take action based on real life. I think it is unreasonable to expect people to make immediate decisions for spending cash these days without a little time for reflection or whatever.
That kind of high pressure sales tactic can get results in the short term but is really unnecessary and not condusive to a positive long term relationship. Sorry for the lengthy reponse. I hope it is useful. Thanks again for asking – I think it is an important topic for IMers these days.
So I get in for $7.00 because I know that it will increase in price over time. Once I found time to test it on a test site that I have, I had planned on buying several $7.00 copies for my most important sites.
Less than a week later, I get a notice from you that a developers version is available and I can’t wait to pay the $40.00 difference because I have over 400 domains registered, and more than 1500 sub-domains… so the ability to use the plug-in over and over again on all of my sites was a bargain. And no coupons were ripped, torn, or otherwise injured in such a wise investment.
So the guys come along and add some bells and whistles to make this into a new product and inform us of the release. I watched the webinar and thought, “okay, that’s nice, but so what?” because I had misunderstood the original product and the opportunity to upgrade to a multi-site license for a very small price.
I went to the site to get the updated version only to see a notice that I could buy Ultimate for the difference in price from the original. I too thought that something was wrong, but my first thought was that Robert still cannot do math properly.
So I dig out my receipts for the two items I had previously purchased, and found that they were both over 6 months ago. Then I looked at the products and compared them side by side, and found that the Ultimate is probably 6 to 10 times more efficient for my needs than the original.
I also have other products from other marketers that do similar tasks… and I will be using their products as well as the Ultimate plugin.
I think it was a great improvement over the original, and from the comments I hear from others, I am glad that I have steered away from GoDaddy.
All in all I am going to continue to buy from these marketers, because they not only know their product, but are willing to spend the time to help their buyers learn to use it. The value contained in the products is far higher than the few dollars spent.
I, for one, value their time and efforts, and show that I value them with my wallet and occasionally with a comment.
And I will continue to purchase products from them. Sometimes the product is of no use to me at that moment in time, but I know that I will be privy to updates and reconfigurations because I have invested a few dollars in this company of men.
Get real here people… if you are trying to run a business with these products, then you are going to write the expense off against income.
Anything else is just a hobby, and most of you spend way more on your hobbies in the course of events than a mere $87.00 (that is what I spent… 7+40+40)
Thanks guys for the revamped product
Gordon
You ask for an opinion, and you are just backfiring to anyone that don’t agree with you, you are being arrogant about your product and its ok because you created, but at this point i was going to buy it; but for the attitude and the way you are answering to everyone here, well not everyone just people that don’t agree with you. You should t just but the price and never ask this question, because you lost a client and a list for any of your products, don’t matter if they are the last if is the latest and greatest product, because simple you don’t care about your customers opinion. Remember the difference in any business is caring about your customer because these are the one who makes you earn your money, and the if they are not satisfies with your support they are willing to buy a similar product at a higher price just because the support is better.
Having this attitude is very lame especially allot of people BETA TESTED, yes they did even if you dont want to call it like this, they where, why because the most of the problems and bug fixes with different servers,were found because of them your fist user your beta testers, your lite version. This was how you improved your product with out spending a dime going out there and buy hosting with every company around and testing the program. Just to remember you don’t be surprise that on your next WSO you wont get allot of sales, and the negative feedback i am sure will be allot. because for now on , anyone will wait for you up sell, to but it because at the end will be the same price. That’s my opinion and sure allot of other warriors here as well.
Next time i see a WSO if it happens i will run away or just wait for the final product or up-sell whatever you call it. Or just find the same concept from another person. By the way i was tire of the upsell and upgrades of Office and i use Open Office and Gimp they are open source free very well supported by fellow users and everyday increased the people that are moving to it.
This is a old stat i think is double or triple the user
“According to recent data, there are 303 million people living in the United States, 72.5 percent of which have Internet access. This suggests that of a population of 219 million U.S. Internet users, nearly 11 million actively use OpenOffice.
In other words, OpenOffice is not a niche geek phenomenon. With more than 46 million downloads of version 3.0 alone, OpenOffice could prove unpleasantly disruptive to Microsoft’s desktop business.”
Wish you well and best of luck in your business model.
Hi Robert
I purchased as an early bird and would like to think we would receive some credit for getting in and helping to iron out early adopter issues.
What Microsoft do I believe is deplorable and downright greed driven. I had so many issues over the years being a guinea pig for them and literally must have spent days over that time sorting out issues with their software.
I voted with my money and moved on to a Mac and have been happy ever since. The operating system software they provide is top notch and as cheap as chips. The latest Lion upgrade is around $25 and just works.
Robert,
I think that your approach is completely fine. It makes sense and has integrity.
There IS a difference between updates to a current version, vs. upgrading to new functionality (i.e. a new version of the software).
And let’s just put this into perspective: you are selling software to people who are running businesses (or starting to run businesses) online.
To have software that backs up critical data (i.e. your wordpress site) for less than $100 is a bargain. The fact that it was $7, and then cost $40 to upgrade, or $37 and then $10 to upgrade (or whatever) is essentially ‘chump change’. If people aren’t making at least that amount back each day (or week, or even every month when getting started), then they have many other problems to worry about…
Someone mentioned a different back up software earlier in the thread – that software is much more expensive!
You deliver good quality, at very reasonable prices.
I appreciate you allowing a discussion here about this topic – though in reality, you don’t need to.
Next time, just start at a higher price, and go up from there. You’ll probably have fewer complaints.
Hello there,
the internet and software products are comparable to time, it never stops and it waits for no one.
I don’t understand all the hassle here about having to pay for an update to such an awesome product that in turn saves you so much time and if used properly can make you so much fast money.
Christmas 2011 I had three domains running all selling one specific type of toy with a very strong brand name. After making some huge sales the company got in contact with me and demanded the transfer of the domains.
I had never had this issue with them before and I reckon it was down to the fact that they were always under me on the first page of Google. I suggested they give me a job and transfered the domains. They were fair enough and payed all expenses for the transfers and they did not have to do that.
Although these domains were so new and still inside a 60 day period before I could transfer them, they were top ranking and I did not want to lose the sales I was making.
Yes you guessed it, I used backup creator to clone them, bought three other domains, cloned the sites, made a few changes and presto, I am on top again and still making my sales. So would I pay the extra $30 for an upgrade, YES!
Get real people! The upgrades the guys have implemented in their software are worth 20 times more than what you have to pay. Not even death is free these days so let the guys get paid for their knowledge and dedication to their product and to their customers.
Time is our main asset and everyone wants it for as cheap as they can get it. If you are in a day job your boss is paying you for your time and you better believe it, he will fight to the blood if you want more money for your it.
I pay a monthly fee of $69 for a health product I take. If they upgrade that product and make it better, more unique, they will expect you to pay more and I would, because I don’t want to miss my product and the advantages I have through using it. It’s so simple.
I reckon the guys have the right to up their price when they incorperate such major changes and the fact that we only have to pay the difference is a great move from them.
Well done fellas. I wish you all the best and all success.
I bought the Backup Creator for $17 and the Ultimate for $30. Buying at the discount price was a good deal but that good deal disappeared when I payed $30 for ultimate when the cost to everyone became $47. The way to preserve that would have been to charge all the early buyers that got the discount price the same as they paid for Backup Creator.
I do hate OTO’s. You spend 15 minutes listening & reading all the hype about how good X is and purchasing it and then the OTO tells you buying Y will make you 10 times the money. After buying Y another OTO tells you you would be a fool not to buy Z because it will make you 100 times the money if you only buy X & Y.
Several times after going through this scenario I have been so pissed off that I logged back into Clickbank and submitted a refund request.
I was one of those suckers that got it for $7.00 and left it on the shelf.
was happy i got a deal and was left with the impression that there was going to be improvement to that plugin
if we now have to pay the full price anyway as the plugin was improved after about 6 month then what is the point to support you in the early days and get you the buzz to spread the word.
After all you Robert set the original low price not us.
i have upgraded and paid an extra $30.00 not so happy about that
Gerhard
I agree the upgrade should be flat…. You are penalizing early bird buyers and rewarding late buyers (I am a late buyer) I purchased yesterday, and I am very happy.
I do not believe updates will be necessary because this software simply copies everything.
I also own wptwin and backup creator trumps it, however… Wptwin has had no updates in forever, and it still works like a champ.
If the upgrade was a flat $10, then people who paid $7 would keep their early bird discount, and end up paying $17. The people who paid $17.00 Would end up paying $27 total. Otherwise you are simply “stealing” back their early bird discount.
That’s my thoughts. I also think the sales page is a tad bit misleading.., talking about client sites… But then we have to upgrade to developers license to use it to back them up automatically. (well worth it… Just wish it was more understandable on the sales page)
So what is the incentive to buy early from you? I have learned that when buying here, it is best to wait for the bugs to get worked out and then buy it when it is in its prime… The price will be the same anyway.
Anyway, I love your products, and will continue to be a long term customer.
I have no problem with charging for new software or substantial updates (bug fixes should be free or at least very low cost), especially when the price represents a great value. On the other hand, it never hurts to reward your loyal customers and after all it is less expensive to market to existing customers than to acquire new ones…
Even the US Postal Service has figured out that an old first class stamp, no matter what price was paid for it, should do the same job of mailing a letter as a new, more expensive, one. It would be really cool if an existing software customer could always get the current version for no more than he paid for the one he has – maybe there is room for a win – win compromise here 🙂
Thanks everyone for commenting.
I actually take it as a huge compliment that many of you came in here with strong opinions and wanted to work this out with me. I think there are a ton of lessons to be learned from everyone who posted here, especially…
1. Tim: there’s updates and there’s features
2. Stu: we need to be 100% airtight about our update policy upfront
3. Rich: offer a flat rate upgrade fee (honestly, we thought people would prefer to “pay the difference”) — but going this route the next time makes more sense
Sounds good? I apologize to anyone if they felt “baited and switched” — “stolen” from — a “sucker” — “discriminated” against (all your words) … You know we didn’t plan that — and heck, we didn’t even plan on adding any new features to the plugin to begin with.
IMPORTANT: You aren’t being FORCED to get the Ultimate version in any way. Your version will still work and in fact we’re continuing to update BOTH versions every day. Ultimate contains some OPTIONAL new features that were added in March 2012. Your original version is still intact.
At the end of the day, here are your options…
Option #1: Keep complaining and worrying about $20 vs $30 or $47 vs $7
Option #2: Use the Backup Creator to continue making more money that it doesn’t matter
I will continue to improve the plugin because you guys keep using it. And keep in mind: you don’t have to buy, there is a 30-day refund policy, AND there is an affiliate program that pays you money when you tell people about it.
Regardless of what you think of me, please back your sites up and please keep making money.
Robert Plank
http://www.BackupCreator.com/cashflow/cashflow.php