| Guys, I think you are not fair to the owner (and I want to stress that there is an owner. It is not a public/open source project). 1. It wasn't all that sudden price increase. The administration had posted information about the price increase for the professional edition and reduction of features in the community version at least 1.5 years ago (I know that for sure because I bought my license in July 2016 and the announcement was there). There was plenty of time to purchase in advance at a lower price (though I don't remember how much it was). Such action would help the development team to do the job faster seeing that users are ready to pay (we all like to be paid, don't we?). 2. Comparing SSMS Boost to Notepad++ is not valid. Notepad++ is open source product. It lives on community contributions (time & donations). But the user base is much larger. So smaller donations work. But at the same time, Notepad++ doesn't have any dependencies. They can release new versions at their leisure. But SSMS Boost is integrated into SSMS which is changing monthly. And those changes may break SSMS Boost. And all of you want the issue to be fixed fast (and for free?). 3. Everybody wants to be paid for the work they do. I am sure that majority of you get paid at your job. The price may be steep. But how do you decide what is the right price for a software? Try to put yourself into owners' shoes. 1. Replacement value. How much does it cost to replace it? 1.1. How much do competitors charge for a similar product? 1.2. How much would it cost to build a new product like that? how many hours would it take for you to implement the features? Multiply it by your hourly rate that might be a price? That price might vary a lot depending on how much you make. 2. Added Value. How much time does it save a user let say each year? So the user doesn't miss deadlines, don't have to stay overtime. How much money they save. Even if users' boss is not ready to pay the get benefit for themselves. 3. How many times you can go to a restaurant for the price (it is a funny way to price :) 4. Many other ways... It is difficult task for the owner. If he makes wrong decisions he might lose money, customers, or the project itself. We are all human, make mistakes and pay for them ;) I also want to express my personal opinion. SSMS Boost needs a lot of improvements in terms of stability and UX. UX is terrible. I can clearly see that the app is designed by a hardcore developer. It would benefit it hire a UI/UX person to redesign it. But that would require money. And I feel that I paid my share. ;) From the practical standpoint, I would advise the owner to revisit the pricing model. Here my inputs: 1. Most companies I worked had policies that expenses under $100 usually didn't require approval or approval by immediate manager. Above $100 it becomes tricky. Consider price under $100. 2. Introduce donations to support the community version and add some popular there. You may be surprised to see how many people are ready to give donations. 3. Consider subscription types of licensing. Users might be more willing to pay $30 a year than $180 in one shot. 4. And finally, review the competitor products and their pricing. |
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