Ulysses, infected by a trendy virus, changes to all-Subscription model

Posted by Lothar Scholz
Aug 11, 2017 at 04:28 PM

>My guess is that the analysis would show that the bet is: introducing a
>subscription might cause my customer base to drop 20-30% temporarily,
>the cash flow from monthly fee would offset the loss, and then the base

I think for an already well developed product like Ulysses you can lose 80% and still doing better.

First you have to realize that this is a huge price increase compared to previous prices where you could decide to only get it on iOS or macOS. Having a full previous price repaid in just one year is what i consider a 200% increase because my average is (just a feeling, i don’t have checked it) about 3 years before i upgrade. Often this means i have to pay the full price again because i missed one or two (not really so) major releases.

As a shareware author in the 2000s years i know that most sales are only done impulsive once and not used for a long time. With the required minimum subscription time they are not lost. So it’s pretty hard to lose money with subscriptions if you have an already really popular software.

But the main trend is even worse. It’s the software as a service model. Thats what i really hate. I refuse to go into the cloud for almost everything. Especially when you realize how inefficient and disappointing most web software still is.

And i also find the $5 coffee comparison offensive. Why not compare it with the typical Hippster Advocado Toast with Wallnut Salad for $19?
“Hey you can buy my software for less then the cost of a toast. A single toast in your whole lifetime.” I should remember this for my next marketing campaign.