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$40? Seriously? [OmniFocus for iPad Pricing Feedback] Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Quote:
Originally Posted by gopi View Post
If anything, I have less sympathy for people who got a gadget for free and then don't want to buy accessories. If you can't afford what you need to use the gadget, too bad.

If somebody offered to give me a Bugatti Veyron, I would try to figure out how to politely suggest that I would need to sell the car and buy something inexpensive like a Rolls Royce or a Ferrari. I can't afford a stress analysis on my rims every few thousand miles, among other things, adding up to 5 or 6 figures in yearly operating costs. In that situation, I assume you would not be sympathetic to me complaining about upkeep.
Thanks Gopi, but I'm afraid your analogy just confuses me further! :confused:

I take it you'd accept that there are plenty of great Apps out there that are free or 59p (99¢), whilst OmniFocus is $40. I can't imagine that the majority of things designed to go with a Bugatti are free or extremely affordable and only the stress analysis is expensive?

OK, I honestly don't want any Member of this Board thinking I'm trying to indulge myself in some kind of troll-like behaviour, and arguing for the sake of it, but I am now seriously trying to answer the question:

"what is it that makes Omni's products so special that justifies the premium prices?".

Quote:
Originally Posted by emory View Post
A refined and polished experience is what everyone here expects
Quote:
Originally Posted by whpalmer4 View Post
There are some who have difficulty grasping the concept that our often superior experience might actually justify the price
I appreciate 'to each his own' and with no disrespect intended, but IMHO the initial releases have been anything but refined, polished or a superior experience.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hypotyposis View Post
which would mean that they should actually pay you to use them. And then they should thank you for doing so.
I thoroughly enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek post Hypotyposis, but with my hand-on-heart, although I haven't actually felt that Omni should be paying me, I have believed maybe they shouldn't be charging me $40 for what have felt like beta-tests.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RiK View Post
For example, I'm a photographer and I often hear people moaning about the price of Photoshop, and yet they're not involved in the graphics industry and barely take any photos other than holiday snaps. They don't need it, Elements or even iPhoto would be more than plenty for all their needs. They just *want* it, because they've heard it's cool.
Great post RiK, and I'll 'fess up, 'guilty-as-charged'! I have a yacht which I don't need (just always wanted!) and the cost/benefit ratio is probably the same as diamond-encrusted peanuts. Actually, I take that back, the peanuts would have been a much better deal!

At least Omni has yet to take a leaf out of Adobe's book and force us to use their software! :)

Last edited by endoftheQ; 2010-10-08 at 02:59 AM..
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by endoftheQ View Post
At least Omni has yet to take a leaf out of Adobe's book and force us to use their software! :)
That's the point: this is a free market, there is no monopoly, and Omni is decent enough to offer a 30-day refund policy. If you don't think the products are worth the money, you're free to either not buy them, or to return them for refund. I really don't see why there's any need to keep arguing about this. Either you believe in some principles of a capitalist economics, comrade, and then if Omni is really overpriced in comparison to their competitors there's no reason to believe they'll keep afloat for too too long, or you don't, and then frankly what is the point in arguing the price?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by endoftheQ View Post

"what is it that makes Omni's products so special that justifies the premium prices?".


I appreciate 'to each his own' and with no disrespect intended, but IMHO the initial releases have been anything but refined, polished or a superior experience.
I was under the impression that we were talking about the Apple ecosystem pricing in general, given the 1984 reference, and my post was made in that mindset, as I think should have been discernible from the Windows/Dell mention! If that wasn't enough of a clue, can you tell me about the Omni hardware products? :)
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hypotyposis View Post
That's the point: this is a free market, there is no monopoly, and Omni is decent enough to offer a 30-day refund policy. If you don't think the products are worth the money, you're free to either not buy them, or to return them for refund. I really don't see why there's any need to keep arguing about this.
OK, Hypotyposis, I'm genuinely not trying to wind you up (or anyone else for that matter!) but I'm still not getting it. I also accept that I may just be incredibly dumb!

My question (?) was:

"What is it that makes Omni's products so special that justifies the premium prices?".

If you'd answered "OmniFocus is the best fundi-GTD App" I'd probably argue that (in my book) Atomic is the best web browser App, GoodReader is the best PDF reader, etc. but they don't feel the need to charge $40, both are 59p (99¢) Apps.

However, if you said (and I'm not for one second suggesting you are!) "OmniFocus at $40 makes me an exclusive member of a niche GTD club and at that price-point it keeps the riff-raff out", OK, that I can totally accept, understand and appreciate. :)

You're right, I don't have to buy. I can also get a refund. No argument! But that's not what I'm asking. I'm trying to learn why you (and other Members) appear so 'laissez faire' regarding Omni's premium pricing.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whpalmer4 View Post
I was under the impression that we were talking about the Apple ecosystem pricing in general, given the 1984 reference, and my post was made in that mindset, as I think should have been discernible from the Windows/Dell mention! If that wasn't enough of a clue, can you tell me about the Omni hardware products? :)
I hope you'll accept my sincere apologies, whpalmer4, it was stupid of me to even think you might use words such as refined, polished or a superior experience in regard to OmniFocus on the iPad! :p
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by endoftheQ View Post
I hope you'll accept my sincere apologies, whpalmer4, it was stupid of me to even think you might use words such as refined, polished or a superior experience in regard to OmniFocus on the iPad! :p
Or to put such a nuanced post where you might read it, eh? :p
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by endoftheQ View Post
However, if you said (and I'm not for one second suggesting you are!) "OmniFocus at $40 makes me an exclusive member of a niche GTD club and at that price-point it keeps the riff-raff out"
That works for me, I'm all in favour of keeping the riff raff out!

Quote:
Originally Posted by endoftheQ View Post
You're right, I don't have to buy. I can also get a refund. No argument! But that's not what I'm asking. I'm trying to learn why you (and other Members) appear so 'laissez faire' regarding Omni's premium pricing.
To me, it isn't premium pricing. It's perfectly reasonable pricing for a quality application.

I think the problem is so many other apps going in with stupidly low prices affecting peoples perception. I mean seriously, doesn't it seem crazy to pay less than a bar of chocolate for a rock-solid business application that you use every day? Seriously?

How much is your average video game that people play for a few hours and then it never touch again? Then compare that to the cost of OmniFocus which we use every day.

Just how long will the people making the 59p apps survive? What's their motivation to keep providing support and updates when they've made pennies from each customer? How likely are their customers to put a value on their service or their products in the future?

How would you feel if you spent thousands of man-hours working on something and someone told you they though it was worth less then the cost of a can of coke?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by endoftheQ View Post
My question (?) was:

"What is it that makes Omni's products so special that justifies the premium prices?".
(...)
I'm trying to learn why you (and other Members) appear so 'laissez faire' regarding Omni's premium pricing.
Determining whether $40 is a premium price or not is a very relative question, depending on a user's particular circumstances. It could very well be that some users consider it a "premium price" but find some functionality in OF that they can't find elsewhere, justifying the cost. It's obviously the case that many people don't consider $40 a premium price, whether it is because they are wealthy enough to spend this sum freely, or because e.g. they find it a reasonable cost for a business tool.
But this doesn't contradict my initial reaction: as far as I understand, in a free market, there is no way to directly impose one's wishes upon a company's pricing other than supply/demand. If users didn't think that the price was right, they would (or should) not buy or get a refund. What else do you expect when you say that current users appear (?) "laissez faire"? Us to besiege Omni's headquarters and take their families hostages until they reached the price point we thought was appropriate? Since the "perfect price" is different amongst different users, perhaps there should be duels between them first?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RiK View Post
That works for me, I'm all in favour of keeping the riff raff out!



To me, it isn't premium pricing. It's perfectly reasonable pricing for a quality application.

I think the problem is so many other apps going in with stupidly low prices affecting peoples perception. I mean seriously, doesn't it seem crazy to pay less than a bar of chocolate for a rock-solid business application that you use every day? Seriously?

How much is your average video game that people play for a few hours and then it never touch again? Then compare that to the cost of OmniFocus which we use every day.

Just how long will the people making the 59p apps survive? What's their motivation to keep providing support and updates when they've made pennies from each customer? How likely are their customers to put a value on their service or their products in the future?

How would you feel if you spent thousands of man-hours working on something and someone told you they though it was worth less then the cost of a can of coke?
To answer your question personally, however: $40 is under 20 minutes of work. I use OF everyday for both professional and personal matters, and it facilitates my management of both. It is one of the very, very few pieces of software I have never have a data integrity issue with; other minor issues are dealt with by the best customer service in the industry (IMHO) and a healthy and active user community. The time I spend replying to your (amusing) debates on the forums I could probably have spent working enough to more than repay for all of the OG products I've ever bought. So to me it's really not a "premium" price.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RiK View Post
That works for me, I'm all in favour of keeping the riff raff out!
OK, for me it's up there with frock designers licencing their names to carcinogenic compounds, but I do 'get' it!

Quote:
Originally Posted by RiK View Post
I think the problem is so many other apps going in with stupidly low prices affecting peoples perception. I mean seriously, doesn't it seem crazy to pay less than a bar of chocolate for a rock-solid business application that you use every day? Seriously?
I agree (!), and to quote myself:

Quote:
Originally Posted by endoftheQ View Post
Apple's App Store has changed my perception of software being a considered investment to it becoming a disposable commodity. I buy, on average, 2-3 Apps a day, of which 99.9% get junked. I view this buying pattern in the same way as my daily Starbucks and with the same commitment.
OK, back to you RiK.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RiK View Post
How much is your average video game that people play for a few hours and then it never touch again? Then compare that to the cost of OmniFocus which we use every day.
mmhhh, not so compelling. I'd have to work it out but I believe my feral kin seem to have the Halo/OmniFocus minutes-per-$ value scenario well cracked!

Quote:
Originally Posted by RiK View Post
Just how long will the people making the 59p apps survive? What's their motivation to keep providing support and updates when they've made pennies from each customer? How likely are their customers to put a value on their service or their products in the future?
I'm almost on board... I recalled Ken saying:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Case View Post
Unfortunately, as you point out, we don't have any way to offer upgrade discounts on the App Store at this time. So, instead, we've been just releasing all of our updates for free. (We probably can't continue to do that forever, but we started lobbying Apple to add upgrade pricing to the App Store before the App Store even opened.)
If Ken saw which way the wind was blowing regarding Apple's upgrade pricing policy even before the App Store launch, and has factored in the cost of foreseeable future upgrades, then $40 seems less unreasonable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RiK View Post
How would you feel if you spent thousands of man-hours working on something and someone told you they though it was worth less then the cost of a can of coke?
Oh shi*! Now I'm back where I started! :eek:

It also takes hundreds-of-thousands of man-hours every day to bring me that can of Coke at 59p! So, Coca-Cola have obviously taken Mr. Jobs advice to heart and are practicising: "price competitively, go for volume"!

Last edited by endoftheQ; 2010-10-10 at 03:51 AM..
 
 


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