FAQ on Prime plan

[Timmy]

Here’s the real FAQ (free jokes for all!):

What is Prime?
Prime is the new Insync license, replacing Plus/Pro/Business and thus complicating things even though we simplified it.
Prime is not…

• making any difference between home or professional users
• free, not it every will be, you’ll pay up (yes, again)
• obligated, you can still stay on an old version. Well, until we stop supporting it I guess
• diverse, it’s the only option for new customers and currently there’s no option for existing customers
  Traditional desktop software is generally sold as a one-time purchase between major versions with a discounted upgrade between versions. Even though we made you think we’re different, we’re just like any other company.
  Current customers have the option to stay on their current license or pay again.

How much is Prime?
For new customers? Easy, it’s $29.99 per Google account with a 30-day money back guarantee. There are volume discounts for multiple licenses.
For loyal current customers? Ouch, that’s a tough one. Depends how much you already spent on our software, about 40 to 50 bucks in total I guess.
But hey! You can buy like 100 accounts and it’ll be cheaper (per account) and you’ll have many thankful friends. That’s priceless!

When will Prime be available?
If you’re a new user, right now! Old and loyal? Sorry, you’ll have to wait.
What is the difference between Plus/Pro/Business and Prime?
Plus vs Prime

• Something with versions… We don’t really care.
• You’ll pay more, that’s all I remember from the memo.
  Pro vs Prime
• It’ll be cheaper!
  Business vs Prime
• It’s tax deductible, why on earth would you care?
  All customers on Plus/Pro/Business have been grandaddied, whatever that means.

How do I check what license I have?
Find the confirmation mail we sent you. What do you mean, you can’t find it anymore?!

What was the original promo email about, the one that went to spam for some customers?
We don’t really remember, can anyone send us a copy? Our spam folder already got deleted. It went to spam because it basically was spam, we offered something for free that isn’t really free and that’s pretty much the definition of spam. No, once again, you will not be getting Prime for free, stop asking! If we did free upgrades to all our existing customers, we couldn’t afford a second company Porche for all employees. Yeah sure, we passed out some free accounts back in May but that was only for three days. Boy, that sure was the craziest start of the week ever, I can tell you that.

What do I need to do to continue using Insync? Do I need to upgrade to Prime?
We don’t really know. For our sake, just take the damn upgrade and leave us alone already. Think about the time you got Windows XP, probably the best operating system evah and then Microsoft ended its life and forced everyone to upgrade. This is the same thing… Or is it? What were we talking about?

What happens if I don’t upgrade to Prime from my current license?
Didn’t I just explain that? Seriously, stay with me.

Will Insync 1.x (the version we’re on now) become obsolete when the next version update (2.x) is released?
Yes, eventually.

If I upgrade to Prime, will I need to pay again for future major version upgrades?
No. Unless we pull a stunt like this again, then yes. But no, we don’t think we will. Larry! Will we ever “simplify” our price points again? What’s that? Maybe in about 5 years? So I can tell them no, right? Right. No.

How and when can I upgrade to Prime?
We’re currently test driving some new Porches, we’ll send you a form or something, you’ll hear from us. Note: for Business, our people will talk to your people.

How will the upgrade work?
• Vroom vrooooom vroom vroom vroOoOoOooOm
• VROOM vroom vroom vroom vroooooom vroom vroom
• Honk honk! VroOoOoOOooOOooOOoom vroom vroom VROOM vroom vroom…

Is Prime a bait-and-switch or some other pricing scam?
Hahahahaha, hahaha, I don’t see why you would think that. Hahaha… No*, of course not*. What do you mean? I don’t see any asterisk. You silly bugger, haha. Buy Prime now!
.
.
.
.* it may be, we haven’t decided on that yet.

[Sombras_de_Alguem]

i guest you missed the point…
but it’s pointless to start a comment “battle”, but the question is not about hypothetical business management scenario, but a question of real customer service management…

[mianosm]

Strange, I’ve been upgraded to prime now - getting at the least basic security and fixes is needed.

I could see adjusting for microtransactions (for added features and usages), or even a subscription model like Lastpass has/had ($12/year for mobile access, and other options).

Thanks for the Prime!

[k2trf]

It seems they’re sticking with their “if you used a gmail address, we’ll give it to you for free; if not you can pay again, at 30% off (which still makes it the same thing it cost in the first place)” train.

As such, I will be looking into a refund/other options, as the software was alright a month or two ago; but that was before I knew I’d have to pay twice for the same thing.

[terpua]

To clarify, Plus users only get 1.x upgrades and you can stay on it and not pay anything extra so you actually got what you paid for

If you want free upgrades to 2.x & beyond, then you will need to upgrade. As mentioned above, if we gave everything away for free, we wouldn’t be around that much longer.

[k2trf]

No, according to the other posts here and in the other forum topics that have been created by the staff (that I’ve seen), 1.x will not recieve upgrades; they’ll just recieve updates to keep them working in current states.

And the bigger problem, is that if somebody wants free upgrades to 2.x (and only 2.x because there is no faith remaining that “beyond” will not require subsequent purchaes), all they have to do is have used their gmail address when signing up.

Why on earth would I want to “stay” on a product I paid for two months ago, that will not recieve any further development, or “choose” to pay that amount again (at a 30% discount mind) for the next version? Might not seem as bad a rub if I’ve been using it for a year or so already, but to me, this is just a “oh thanks for deciding our product was worth it with your wallet – by the way, that’s outdated now, if you want to get development on your two month old product, you’ll have to pay again”.

I’ve already sent an email to support requesting a refund; this is not acceptable to me, but I wish you the best of luck with this phlisophy with your business.

[terpua]

The philosophy of our business is actually quite common: we sell desktop apps for a one-time price for each major version (1.x, 2.x, etc.) with discounted upgrades to existing users. Existing users can choose to stay with the current version or upgrade at a discounted price. Desktop apps (large and small) have followed this model since the early days of the PC/Mac.

It just so happens that you bought version 1.x later in its cycle (it’s happened to me and I’m sure it’s happened to many that purchase desktop apps) but Insync version 1 is almost 4 years old, which is not common among desktop apps. Generally, they are on an annual or bi-annual major version release schedule (i.e. they will ask for upgrades more often).

We have been more than fair and perhaps too accommodating to our detriment (just look at the free upgrade for gmail users). In any event, we need to run a sustainable business and if we give every major version away based on our one-time pricing model, we wouldn’t be able to survive, much less iterate on new updates or upgrades.

[A_Seda]

So clarify…
Above you said (in the FAQ) [quote=“terpua, post:1, topic:8280”]
Pro vs Prime
yearly vs one-time pricing
3 vs 5 business days support
transferable (all time) vs non-transferable licenses
both offer free major version upgrades
[/quote]

And now you said [quote=“terpua, post:21, topic:8280”]
In any event, we need to run a sustainable business and if we give every major version away based on our one-time pricing model, we wouldn’t be able to survive, much less iterate on new updates or upgrades.
[/quote]

So if I buy Prime now, and you release version 2 Do I need to pay for version 2 even if I have Prime?

[terpua]

You don’t have to pay for version 2 if you purchase Prime since that license covers version 2

[Ingenierie_Media]

So if our adress is @business.com … and we have the Plus!, we need to upgrade to Prime to receive all new version ?

And despite the fact that it include new document support, what else ?

Anyway, for that price, i will pay the upgrade without problem. This application works fine since the begening !

[terpua]

Plus is supported for all 1.x updates. For example, we are planning a version 1.4 which you will receive automatically without doing a thing.

If you want to receive 2.0 and beyond, then yes, you should upgrade to Prime.

RE: document support – don’t know what you mean but Prime includes free version upgrade.

Thanks

[clel]

Apparently everyone who was eligible to Prime has been upgraded for free now, at least I got an email about it.

[Aerion]

I have to say that while in the long run I benefit because of the one-off purchase, this licence changeover is a bit of a mess and a costly affair.

One of my accounts is on Plus and the other two are on a Pro subscription. The Plus account could stay as is until Insync 2.0 gets released, and the Pro subscription is due for renewal on February 5, so my total cost is $15. In order to upgrade all three to Prime I would have to spend $63, which is a considerable amount to me and can’t afford it in one go.

How long is the 30% discount offer valid for? Also, given that my Pro subscription is up for renewal in 3 days, will an upgrade to Prime be prorated?

I think this could have been handled better, and as other have pointed out, it seems unfair that gmail.com accounts get free upgrades but Google Apps/G Suite users have to pay. I fail to see why, as it’s the same service, same software, same functionality. I totally understand that you can’t give everybody free upgrades, but many Google Apps users are private individuals who are simply Gmail users with a custom domain, so why do we get ‘penalised’ for having a custom domain? This stings, especially when we already get the same treatment from Google themselves (Gmail users can share Android app purchases and Google Music All Access subscriptions with their families, but Google Apps users cannot).

If, as you’ve stated, you’d go out of business if you gave everybody free upgrades, then why give Gmail users a free ride? This doesn’t make sense, especially considering that you will not make any more money from existing users, Gmail and G Suite alike, once they’ve upgraded to Prime.

[terpua]

The upgrade offer has no expiration.

RE: Pro renewal – I suggest that you upgrade to Prime since your Pro is up for renewal already (i.e. you have used up the yearly subscription so you aren’t wasting any “unused” time). But you can stay on Pro if you prefer to have transferable licenses and need faster support. And no, you will not be pro-rated when upgrading to Prime.

We gave gmail users a free upgrade as a way for us to apologize for the initial communication snafu. In hindsight, this wasn’t the best approach as you can tell from user complaints (i.e. those who are on Google Apps) but the intent and spirit of our upgrade was always about “customer first”.

[Aerion]

While it’s good to know that the offer won’t expire, your reply just highlights the mess this licence change is.

As explained, I can’t afford to upgrade all three licences at once, so I have no choice but to renew my Pro subscription. But since you’re not offering a pro rata deal (like you used to when upgrading from Plus to Pro), I’ll have to wait with upgrading to Prime until Feb 5 2018 (assuming that the upgrade offer truly has no expiration on it). And even then, I still have to fork out $42 instead of $15, so no matter which way you turn it, your upgrade path is a costly affair.

Now I’m glad that I haven’t used up all three licences on my Pro subscription, as that would have added another $21 to the bill.

To me this is not a “customer first” approach, even if I do stand to benefit in the long run once I’ve converted all three licences.

[iNik]

Wow. This is a lot of text that basically say, “You can get a 30% discount if you pre-pay for version 2.”

[k2trf]

I was done with Insync as a product and a company, and done with the double-talk in this thread, just to avoid saying what the community knows damn well at this point. Shot the following email off, expecting that if the answer was no (and I took it to be from the reply you’ll see, which is the real reason I’ve come back to share it, since the offer was only made to me through the private email, which is equally the wrong way to go about it as their ‘Gmail users get free upgrade’ methodology) I’d issue a chargeback through my financial institution (spoiler alert: they already approved it, so I’m literally done with Insync for good now).

What I sent them:

Having paid for this product less than two months ago, only to now find
out that I must pay again (the same amount, even with the "discount" of
30%) because I do not use my Gmail as my primary address, I would like
to request a refund.

The product was alright, and more or less did its job, and I was happy
thinking the money would help develop it further, but I do not
appreciate being told I've been grandfathered and will get no updates
when I have not even owned the software for two months, unless I pay for
the product all over again (at a *gracious* discount, that makes the
price the same as it was the first time.

What I received back from Gio:

We understand that those who bought recently are at a disadvantage, so we'd
like to offer you this deal: If you upgrade to Prime, I'll refund you the difference 
-- so you'll only be paying a total of $11.24 ($29.99 - $18.75) for the upgrade.
What do you think?

As a public answer to Gio and this entire joke of a company; I was horrifically offended. This was suggested over a month ago, in one of the other threads that you retired from making another “update” to say the same shit and call it “simplified”, and you ignored it. Then you said everyone using Gmail would be issued a free upgrade. Then you literally didn’t care that you were shafting the rest of your community. Then you had the nerve to make this “offer” to me, privately, only after I threatened a refund (because you and I both know I was completely dissatisfied, and only “requesting” a refund as an attempt to let you be civil about it before I got the bank involved)?

Shame on you.

This is not how you treat customers, nor how you keep them.

I’m GLAD I only bought this recently because it allowed me to escape this catastrophe.

And I dare you to not abuse your powers worse than you already have and leave this up – that way everybody else can see for themselves how you acted in this situation.

Now that I’m done with you, I doubt very highly I’ll ever return to your boards; likewise, I’ll never speak of you in a positive manner to any friend or collegue.

That being the case, let me identify where you went wrong since you obviously still don’t have a clue at this point (or just don’t care, but I cannot “fix” ignorance, so I’m really really really hoping its the former.

You decided to merge your plans together. This is a solid business move and cleans up your user base. However, you did so by deciding everyone who has paid a one-time fee for a standard license, with no official support should suddenly not get the “new” version (which is just a pretty UI as far as I or anyone else seems to be aware). You called it a “2.0”, implying that there were new features substantial to the product, making it different enough from the old version that it was worth a new price tag, even for your existing customers.

That I get; as you’ve pointed out, many companies do it this way – but they make substantial improvements/development to their product, and they advertise it as such to their current customers since they know that’s their most likely new customer base. You failed at this – nowhere except the email shot off on the 25th of January (last year) by Roald have I seen ANYTHING talking about what 2.0 actually improved on. And that was nothing more than a screenshot, implying only the UI has changed, which is not substantial in my opinion (though others may differ).

Had you tried to improve your product significantly and actually quantify what was new & improved, and therefore worth the upgrade, I would guarantee you would have heard nothing out of me and most of the others who have chimed in across your boards in outrage – at that point there is a clear concise version difference, and the question becomes if end users want the new features, and are willing to pay the new tag, regardless of what they’ve previously invested.

Instead, you did not do this. You only maintained that it “condensed” everybody onto a single plan for payment. The problem here is that literally nobody except the folks paying a subscription for ongoing business level support benefit from this, so to everyone else, it is nothing more than being asked to pay again for the same product. And even for some of those business users who have chimed into the various threads, it isn’t worth it, as it would cost almost 3x the amount they currently pay for the product.

Then you saw people complaining.

About exactly what I’ve just outlined.

And you “clarified”, twice over, trying to ditch the old thread (and with it, the negative feedback of this change), how this benefited anyone but you.

You get to be paid again, by everyone, whether they’re currently on a one-time payment or a subscription for support.
You get to condense your userbase from multiple plans into one.
You get to “release” a new version, making the underlying software looking like it is more updated and robust than it actually is.

Your customers get to pay again, with the promise that they won’t be told to pay again in the future (even though that’s exactly what is happening).

You are a business, and you are operating a commercial product. Therefore, you have to create substantial demand for your product, and customer happiness/retention can go a long ways towards that end.

I’m really hopeful you lot will read this, understand where you went wrong, and actually FIX your operating strategy here. Because while I was lucky to be such a new customer, and had the luxury of pulling out even when you tentatively denied my request for doing so, many of your customers aren’t going to be so lucky. Which means they’re stuck with you (even if they delete the software and/or choose not to become a new customer).

I really hope you folks figure your shit out because this product had the potential to be a useful tool for people. But this is NOT how you go about making a business around a tool. You can compare yourselves to Microsoft all you want; you’re not them. You are making mistakes, and alienating your biggest clientel, and to my knowledge they never had the audacity to attempt that.

I wish you all the best, and hope this clarifies for everyone the issues, since I’ve not see anyone else explain it like I just have. Either way, I’m done – you’ve lost me. If you want to be an operating business much longer, I suggest you take what I’ve said seriously, or you might lose others as well.

Of course, I leave that up to them to dis/agree with me at their discression; I speak for nobody but myself, and I believe I have spoken well.

[jaduenas]

Hi there, so sorry you feel this way. We understand the frustration you feel and we apologize if we cannot appease some of our customers because of our decision.

To answer your point on 2.0, it’s not just a UI change, however, we choose not yet to release the features as we are still working on the finals details on our end and we do not want to announce features that haven’t been fully finalized yet. Rest assured we have plans to release a full list of what we’ll be including for 2.0.

Let me also tag @terpua in this so as to get back to you regarding your feedback.

[Customer_Service]

Your response is dismissive and of putting. Combined with “pay once”, no pay annually, no pay once again, I’m feeling very mislead by Insync and will be exploring alternatives that are more consistent.

[William_Nettmann]

When I purchased version 1.x, I don’t recall anything anywhere saying that I would need to pay for upgrades to 2.x or 3.x versions. Even now, Prime is offered on your pricing page for a “one time price”. Does this mean that giving away major version upgrades of Prime costs your business less than giving away major version releases of Plus?

Also, please don’t compare yourself to Microsoft, that’s just bad marketing. BTW, when Windows 10 was released, all Windows users, including users of pirated ancient copies, were given a free upgrade. Unfortunately, Microsoft is still around.