No rewards for being an existing user...

[Rogermcarey]

Please tell me I'm wrong. I 've paid good money for the full Afffinity suite, way back. Now I'm being invited to buy Version 2 (so much better, so, by implication Version 1 not so good any more). But I'm being asked to pay the same price as first-time buyers! In the good old days, when apps were called software, existing users got a discount price for an upgrade. That was a logical approach to pricing, which encouraged existing users to move onwards and upwards, when they had less incentive to do that than first-time buyers.

I'm sorry Affinity can't find it in themselves to thank me for ditching CS whatever it was for their software. That I have previously bought their stuff counts, it seems for nothing. I am of no more interest to them than a new customers.

Thanks, guys. I'll stick with my existing versions. Even though they don't have a scanner interface. But then, ninety quid's worth of V2 doesn't either.

Y'know, I liked Affinity a lot. I recommended it to everyone I know.  Now, I feel like a mug.

Loyalty, guys, is a two-way street.

Yours,

Roger

[MarekGFX]

Well, you can get a 40% discount right now, right? It is fair price for an upgrade. The only thing is that the discount is not privileged only to existing users but it is for everybody (including newcomers). I actually do not care if I am the only who gets the discount or everybody gets it  Or am I missing something?

[EngraverHand]

Seriously? The Affinity apps are so cheap, worth 10x more, no subscription.. if you paid way back, it´s defiantly time to do it again! Do you think it´s free to develop these programs?

[debraspicher]

In the olden days, we would not have received 7-8 years of updates for any piece of software. Adobe certainly would not have given it another thought. We've been spoiled imo, but to each their own.

[Zaxonov]

I think the 40% discount is more than fair. Even if that's for everybody. Not rewarding v1 users is understandable for them to keep an attractive price for everyone with no subscription.

[AlainP]

I would say that ... yes you are really missing something... but I won't tell you what as I don't want to be banned from this forum...

Too bad people cannot be "upgraded"...

[Paul_Hol]

13 hours ago, MarekGFX said:

Well, you can get a 40% discount right now, right? It is fair price for an upgrade. The only thing is that the discount is not privileged only to existing users but it is for everybody (including newcomers). I actually do not care if I am the only who gets the discount or everybody gets it  Or am I missing something?

It's not a "discount" because version 2 has never been sold before. It's, more correctly, an introductory price that will increase at some unspecified date in the future.
look back at the history of Serif and you'll see this is their standard pricing method. Very regular offers of a 'discount' with periods of full price sales so that their 'discounts' don't contravene UK advertising rules.
A real discount will be when it's offered at more than 40% off.

It's good value cheap software, but I can see why some people are annoyed that their loyalty and advocacy for the product hasn't been specially rewarded.

[IPv6]

20 minutes ago, Paul_Hol said:

I can see why some people are annoyed that their loyalty and advocacy for the product hasn't been specially rewarded

Seems the choice was between asking all user base for paying again - and some kind of subscription.
Asking paying again IS the "subscription" of a kind, but you know what you paying for.
So it`s fair, thanks god it`s not a real subscription  As with adobe, where you pay for no changes for years

Affinity Suite well worth the price, imho

[chakko007]

13 hours ago, MarekGFX said:

Well, you can get a 40% discount right now, right? 

Yes. That wasn't the question though. The question was why there's no reward for existing users.

Serif basically treats every existing user like a new user. I also hoped for a better upgrade price, which extends over the initial release sale period. In a few weeks time, the Affinity apps will cost 84,99 €, even for owners of the v1 apps.

20 € for an upgrade would have been cool. Let's be honest, there are not that many new features in v2.

[Ali]

The only software I have on subscription is MS Office 365 and you get updates pretty much constantly.

Serif's model with Affinity is perfectly fair, in my view: new versions don't come around every year, so you are going to get plenty of free updates (we used to call them 'patches') during the lifetime of the version. At the end of the day, Serif is running a business, not a charity, and if you want Serif sofware to continue to improve, then Serif need to be able to pay for good developers. It is what it is. I think just under £90 is pretty good value for the bundle they are offering.

[David Gill]

For what these apps can accomplish, I think they found a sweet spot in pricing out the new versions of their software. Over the past few years of covid, Serif put their software on sale numerous times to attract new customers and as a gesture of goodwill to some hard financial times we've faced around the world. Did other companies in this creative space offer this? Not to my knowledge. Anyway, this is when I bought Affinity software and fell in love with it. When they make expressions that they care about providing their customers with high quality creative apps so they can realize their own creations, I detect their genuine care for people, for customers. This is a rare quality in businesses today for a company to strike that balance (and we do need to keep in mind that Serif is a business too, they need money to keep growing). I'm sure Serif could have sold out their business years ago to Adobe, and there would be no Version 2 to even consider buying. But they've remained loyal to their customers, kept providing updates and now a new Version 2 with an exciting future ahead.

So coming to my point, I feel the release price is a fair cost to existing customers, while also being a drawing point for new customers. Not that we could ever know this, but I'd expect that +90% of purchases for V2 will be existing customers, so I kind of feel like the price is actually geared more towards existing customers rather than new customers. I've only owned Affinity software for less than 2 years, but I'm quite content to pay the price for Version 2, and to keep receiving yearly annual updates until Version 3 comes out. And I'm happy that new customers will have the opportunity to join in the fun of using Affinity software for their first time, just as I did a couple years ago!

[chakko007]

3 minutes ago, David Gill said:

For what these apps can accomplish, I think they found a sweet spot in pricing out the new versions of their software. Over the past few years of covid, Serif dropped the price numerous times to attract new customers to their software, and as a gesture of goodwill to some hard financial times we've faced around the world. 

Wrong. They did sales. They didn't drop the prices. The prices actually always went up. Originally, the Affinity apps cost 49,99 €, then 54,99 €, then 64,99 €, and now 84,99 €.

Again, though, we're straying from the topic here. The question was: "Why is there no rreward for existing customers?".

[ajharok]

14 hours ago, Rogermcarey said:

Please tell me I'm wrong. I 've paid good money for the full Afffinity suite, way back. Now I'm being invited to buy Version 2 (so much better, so, by implication Version 1 not so good any more). But I'm being asked to pay the same price as first-time buyers! In the good old days, when apps were called software, existing users got a discount price for an upgrade. That was a logical approach to pricing, which encouraged existing users to move onwards and upwards, when they had less incentive to do that than first-time buyers.

I'm sorry Affinity can't find it in themselves to thank me for ditching CS whatever it was for their software. That I have previously bought their stuff counts, it seems for nothing. I am of no more interest to them than a new customers.

Thanks, guys. I'll stick with my existing versions. Even though they don't have a scanner interface. But then, ninety quid's worth of V2 doesn't either.

Y'know, I liked Affinity a lot. I recommended it to everyone I know.  Now, I feel like a mug.

Loyalty, guys, is a two-way street.

Yours,

Roger

You paid 50 bucks and used the app for couple of years. Where is the problem? For v2 you get now 40% off and this is ok. You will again use the app for couple of years. You should get that money in 1-2 working hours. Some people are just funny. 

[PaoloT]

When reading this type of posts (and there are so many, even supported by some magazines hosting advertising from a certain competitor) I understand a bit better how the design world works. How many times have we been asked to work for free, and with a reward consisting in letting our name be know by all their friends?

Damn. Something around 100 euros/dollars/pounds for an incredible set of professional tools. That someone may not be able to tell from toys, but should at least be able to 'feel' in their richness and complexity. An amount of money that they may spend for a weekend at the pub.

And they spend precious time, to be otherwise devoted to work or study, to complain about how their privilege has not been respected.

Paolo

 

[Artsketch]

Now we see how existing customers are thanked for patience and loyalty. Why not triple the price and offer 70%? What will the future bring? Will the shortcomings be fixed, or will there be a 3.0 version in a year to take more money?

[bobwal]

I guess a reward for existing users would have been a nice gesture, but really, at the price they're offering for 3 solid apps, this never entered my mind. It's amazing value imo, especially when you consider the alternative, it doesn't compare. There's a lot to be happy about, amazing apps, great price, no subscription, no requirement to upgrade, that's enough reward for me.

[PaulEC]

I think it's really sad that some people get so upset by the fact that other people are getting the same great deal that they are being offered!

I don't see any reason why you should expect cheaper (or free!) new software, just because you've been using an old version of it for a while!

[Tia Lapis]

4 minutes ago, Artsketch said:

Now we see how existing customers are thanked for patience and loyalty. Why not triple the price and offer 70%? What will the future bring? Will the shortcomings be fixed, or will there be a 3.0 version in a year to take more money?

Do you really expect to be thanked for buying a software product? You got multiple years of usage out of it so where is the problem?

[Artsketch]

13 minutes ago, Tia Lapis said:

Do you really expect to be thanked for buying a software product? You got multiple years of usage out of it so where is the problem?

Not to get nearly the same thing that I already own with new a UI for that price.

 

[Alex70]

I paid for my Affinity photo (last version) around 27 euros, now with a big discount of 40% si about 50€. is it this the upgrade policy for customer?

Edited November 10, 2022 by Alex70

[Artsketch]

It seems that they are more focused on new customers.

[Jimo]

Seriously, I think even the standard asking price BEFORE a discount is a good enough reward.

Some of us remember how much full version upgrades could cost in the days before subscribtion models.

Comparatively this is a fantastic deal - and even new users get to benefit.

 

 

[ajharok]

15 minutes ago, Alex70 said:

I paid for my Affinity photo (last version) around 27 euros, now with a big discount of 40% si about 50€. is it this the upgrade policy for customer?

I bought my car couple of years ago, now for the newer model i pay 30% more. Same brand, same model, just newer. I don't get a discount. Hm. If 50€ is too much, stay on v1. 

[chakko007]

50 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

I think it's really sad that some people get so upset by the fact that other people are getting the same great deal that they are being offered!

I don't see any reason why you should expect cheaper (or free!) new software, just because you've been using an old version of it for a while!

That said, a lot of companies do offer upgrade prices.

Even Adobe offers upgrade prices for Photoshop Elements.

Also, I'm not upset. I couldn't be more relaxed. That doesn't stop me though from making up my mind. 20 to 30 € upgrade would have been a no-brainer for a software I don't use every day. 50 € makes me think about it several days. 85 €, no way.

[Patrick Connor]

Sorry you are disappointed, but my reply here explains that if there was a promo code for existing users it would give you the 40% and less for everyone else.

We have to eat.