upgrade policy – from V.1 to V.2

[Plus]

Hi,

what's the Serif upgrade policy concerning Affinity V.1 users? Are you planning to offer us discounted prices for "moving up"?

Personally, I bought your delicious apps via Mac App Store. 

[Enigmaen]

I'd like to know this as well please

[StevenS]

As many of our apps are bought through third party App Stores we do not have a mechanism to offer upgrade pricing. This was why we decided to offer such a large launch discount—to give users an opportunity to upgrade at an incredible price.

Upgrading is completely optional and, if you wish, you can continue to use the original apps for as long as you like.

[monzo]

3 minutes ago, StevenS said:

As many of our apps are bought through third party App Stores we do not have a mechanism to offer upgrade pricing.

That is not correct. Pretty much all of the new versions of software I have bought from developers on app stores have provided a discounted, and in some cases free, upgrade option for existing customers. They do this by retaining the original version along with the new version, and then provide a discount on the bundle price. The original version is then discontinued when it is no longer compatible with that platform, and existing customers will have had the chance to upgrade.

 

3 minutes ago, StevenS said:

Upgrading is completely optional and, if you wish, you can continue to use the original apps for as long as you like.

But you can't guarantee how long the current suite of V1 products will work for, and be secure, on the three platforms they were released on. So not as 'for as long as you like', unless I risk running out of date operating systems, or keep my fingers crossed that your products keep working after updating them.

[rvst]

1 hour ago, StevenS said:

As many of our apps are bought through third party App Stores we do not have a mechanism to offer upgrade pricing. This was why we decided to offer such a large launch discount—to give users an opportunity to upgrade at an incredible price.

Upgrading is completely optional and, if you wish, you can continue to use the original apps for as long as you like.

So as a long-time user of the entire suite of Affinity products, my loyalty goes unrewarded and I pay the same price as a brand new customer. I recognize that the pricing of Affinity still offers great value, but it's very disappointing to receive zero loyalty discount

[rvst]

I note that the price for a single seat individual universal license is £89.99 while the price for 2 seats of a universal business license is £80.99

It appears as if there is no reason anyone in their right mind would opt for the individual license when they can get two seats of the business license for cheaper.

Is there something I'm missing here that the individual license offers that the business one does not that would justify the price difference?

[erutan]

It's pretty common for new versions to get a discount on launch on the App Store - they literally cannot do upgrade pricing there (it's whatever price the app is set at or free). Think of it as a 40% upgrade discount which is pretty normal, and the universal license launch discount is even better.

I'd imagine the business license starts at two seats and offers a bulk discount because a business (vs solo freelancer) would be buying multiple seats for multiple employees anyways. They also come with a more restrictive usage license.

From their website FAQ:

Quote

 

As a private individual you can install Affinity apps on as many devices as you own which run the operating system you have purchased a license for (of course in the case of a Universal License that means you can install on any iPads, Macs or Windows PCs you own). Other people (for example, members of your household) are also allowed to use the apps on those devices. However, only you are allowed to use the apps for commercial use—if any members of your household need to make commercial use of the apps as well they will need to purchase their own license.

For commercial enterprises, education and other multi-user situations, each license can either be assigned to an individual or a device. For example, one Windows license could be used by a single employee on both their Windows desktop and laptop computer. Alternatively, that license could be assigned to a single Windows computer which is used serially by multiple employees.

 

 

[CreamerTraining]

This upgrade policy should not be a surprise, especially if one owned the older Serif software (Windows only). That said, the bundle price is pretty reasonable.

[Plus]

Thank you @StevenS for clarifying things. 

As far as Serif’s introducing price seems to be a good deal, it’s still a limited-time offer.

Do you think that Serif may grant existing customers with upgrade discount – unlimited in time*?

Personally, I think that *such a gesture may be nice and polite way to saying «thanks» to both parties  – Serif hardworking developers and your loyal customers. The world is harsh and rude enough, I guess.

[Patr]

I literally bought affinity photo for iPad last week.  It was $27.99 and it’s already outdated.  New version is also cheaper……. Really not impressed.

[ashf]

2 hours ago, Patr said:

I literally bought affinity photo for iPad last week.  It was $27.99 and it’s already outdated.  New version is also cheaper……. Really not impressed.

You can get V2 for free.

[Patrick Connor]

11 minutes ago, ashf said:

You can get V2 for free

Not sure that's correct. Recent iPad version sales aren't offered any specific offers as they are Apples customers and we have no access to those Store sales. We have been generous to recent Affinity store sales

[ashf]

1 hour ago, Patrick Connor said:

Not sure that's correct. Recent iPad version sales aren't offered any specific offers as they are Apples customers and we have no access to those Store sales. We have been generous to recent Affinity store sales

I see, probably he/she should ask Apple for the refund.

[StevenS]

8 hours ago, rvst said:

the price for 2 seats of a universal business license is £80.99

Each.

£161.98 total.

[StevenS]

5 hours ago, Plus said:

Do you think that Serif may grant existing customers with upgrade discount – unlimited in time*?

I do not have any input on such things, or knowledge as to whether this would happen sorry.

[Loyal customer]

Also disappointed that a brand new user get the same price as a loyal user of V1 who purchase Designer, Photo, and Publisher desktop as well as Designer and Photo for iPad. Makes me feel I am not valued for years of supporting the products and shows no loyalty to existing customers.

[CWFII]

Not everyone buys through the Apple or Microsoft stores. Many bought V1 through the Affinity site. If one were to buy the software through the site today, one would have the option to input a discount code:

This seems like a mechanism to resolve at least some loyalty customer issues.

In addition, I'm still puzzled how someone could buy Affinity products and not have them registered with Affinity, regardless of the site sold. Does the third-party issue the license without any Affinity involvement or knowledge?

 

[Aaron DC]

This "no upgrade available" is the weirdest upgrade policy I have ever seen.

The excuse that "we sell it through 3rd party stores" is weak.

You've lost me as an advocate.

 

[monzo]

17 hours ago, erutan said:

It's pretty common for new versions to get a discount on launch on the App Store - they literally cannot do upgrade pricing there

 

You keep repeating this, but it's not correct, and misleading.

The majority of developers I buy apps from provide an upgrade path by keeping the previous version live for a short period, add it to a 'bundle' with the new version, and then provide a discount for existing purchasers. The previous version can then be removed once customers have had the chance to upgrade.

Serif could have done this, allowing us to upgrade the individual products we require at a further discounted price, and still kept the all-in-one deal for new customers (and existing ones if they wanted it).

But they didn't.

 

[rvst]

A less controversial way to implement this would have been to make the 40% discount available only to existing customers for a short period of time. Since one needs an account to buy on the online store, this would be easy to implement - for example, an invitation email to upgrade and only those with a registered product on their account can take up the offer. 

Despite the great pricing of Affinity's suite by comparison to the competition, the optics of this policy are sub-optimal as is clear from the many replies complaining about it. It's causing some brand-image issues that were avoidable. 

[ByteC]

 

This reminds me of the Reallusion Upgrade Policy for Iclone/CC. 

Appreciation of existing customers looks different.

[CWFII]

53 minutes ago, rvst said:

A less controversial way to implement this would have been to make the 40% discount available only to existing customers for a short period of time. Since one needs an account to buy on the online store, this would be easy to implement - for example, an invitation email to upgrade and only those with a registered product on their account can take up the offer. 

Despite the great pricing of Affinity's suite by comparison to the competition, the optics of this policy are sub-optimal as is clear from the many replies complaining about it. It's causing some brand-image issues that were avoidable. 

Spot on. The software is great and well worth the price. The rollout and thought behind it leaves a LOT to be desired, was totally self-inflicted, and alienated many V1 customers for no good reason. 

[Viridian]

On 11/10/2022 at 10:17 PM, Patr said:

I literally bought affinity photo for iPad last week.  It was $27.99 and it’s already outdated.  New version is also cheaper……. Really not impressed.

I've bought Designer a week ago on the Ipad. Getting an email a few days later that I can "upgrade" by buying the new version, well...

And I agree with the previous poster, Serif is alienating customers this way. I've been using Photo since 2020, but I won't be upgrading either. Adobe isn't the only alternative on the market anymore, so frankly between the two questionable pricing policies, my choice is neither.

[JMS]

I've been reading lots of these threads now and must admit that I too am fairly disappointed about the lack of an upgrade option.

Also, It shouldn't be a problem for an App Store user to easily report their purchase to Serif by logging into the app. I'm not quite sure why the login exists if it then doesn't pass through the "licence/purchase" information of V1 to your Serif account.

Further, I'm not using the Affinity apps professionally but rather privately. I also was an early adapter from just when they went public. I really wanted to support this developer as others here. It was and is a great alternative to the other (which btw. I could get the entire suite for free via my employer but decided to learn Affinity instead).

So, now I've spend:

• Designer macOS: AU$ 49.99 (20/07/2015)
• Photo macOS: AU$ 49.99 (20/07/2015)
• Photo iOS: AU$ 21.99 (01/01/2018)
• Designer iOS: AU$ 22.99 (01/08/2018)
• Publisher macOS: AU$ 62.99 (23/06/2019)
• Total: AU$ 207.95

I was ok spending this amount of money as I expected that it'd be a long term investment. To be honest, I was even happy to spend a little bit to upgrade to V2 from all this. However, as many have said, spending the same as a new-comer (AU$ 159.99) is a bit deflating. I can see of course that it's less than my total for V2 and can already see the comments that It's cheaper for more but that's not the point. I have invested and advocated this software shown a couple of mates who are professional graphic designers that then purchased on my recommendation and there is no consideration in the new price politic.

I am also a bit concerned about the future of versioning. If a new main release get's released every 7 years... ok. However, what if this will be a yearly occurrence from now on? Some insight into the model Serif is pursuing would also be appreciated.

That's my two bits and bobs.

 

Cheers

[GreatWhiteShirt]

I'm chiming in here as well. The vast majority of applications I have purchased over the years provided free or deeply discounted prices for upgrades. In fact I can't think of any examples that didn't, off the top of my head. I thought I had a perpetual license here.

If there are technical barriers to doing so it is the fault of the licensing system or model, not the customers or third parties.

Furthermore, I am (was) interested in the Universal License and also expected a prorated discount on that taking into account the product(s) I have already purchased.

The problem with charging existing customers the same price as new customers is that it alienates the user base and undermines loyalty. It is short sighted and not a winning business strategy IMO. I have recommended Designer to people who had never tried it, for example. If it has to be purchased again with every major update (I have no idea how frequently that will occur either) I will be less inclined to do so.