FAQ on Prime plan

#1

Hello all.

Thanks for the comments on both Update and Update 2. Instead of replying to each post, I took @aro’s suggestion of doing a FAQ.

What is Prime?

Prime is the new Insync license, replacing Plus/Pro/Business and thus simplifying our pricing.

Prime is…

  • for personal, professional and business customers
  • a one-time pricing of $29.99 per Google account with volume discounts
  • all future version upgrades are included
  • the only option for new customers

Traditional desktop software is generally sold as a one-time purchase between major versions with a discounted upgrade between versions. We are following a similar model with this transition to Prime.

Current customers have the option to stay on their current license or upgrade to Prime.

How much is Prime?

Prime is $29.99 per Google account with a 30-day money back guarantee. There are volume discounts for multiple licenses.

Currently, volume discounts are automatically applied when buying licenses at the same time. We’re working on a volume discount manager where customers can continuously buy additional licenses as well as distribute them.

When will Prime be available?

Prime is already available for new accounts. It is the only option available in our pricing page: https://www.insynchq.com/pricing

For customers on Plus/Pro/Business, we’ll announce when the upgrade page is ready. More details on this below.

What is the difference between Plus/Pro/Business and Prime?

Plus vs Prime

  • Insync 1.x only vs free major version upgrades (from 1.x to 2.x, 3.x etc)
  • transferable (one-time within 1 year) vs non-transferable license

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

Business 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

All customers on Plus/Pro/Business have been grandfathered.

How do I check what license I have?

Go to your Account Settings in the app window:

Screenshot_1.png523×620 52.4 KB

What was the original promo email about, the one that went to spam for some customers?

The original promo was a gift to existing customers (as of December 20, 2016) that allowed a free Insync Prime account for a new gmail account of theirs or a family member. Unfortunately, many went to spam due to the included image at the top of the email.

Because of the spam and the timing of the 2nd email, the original promo became a chant for a free upgrade to Prime for existing gmail (and gapps) accounts (i.e. Plus/Pro/Business customers). If we did free upgrades to all our existing customers, I’m not sure if we will be around for much longer :frowning:

What do I need to do to continue using Insync? Do I need to upgrade to Prime?

You don’t have to do anything to continue using Insync. You also don’t need to upgrade to Prime. However, Plus users who don’t upgrade won’t be able to use Insync 2.0 when it comes out. You can continue to use Insync 1.x though.

Think about the time you used Microsoft Word version X (or any paid desktop software) and version Y came out but you didn’t upgrade. This is the same thing.

What happens if I don’t upgrade to Prime from my current license?

If you’re on Plus, you won’t be able to use Insync 2.0 when it comes out. You’ll still be able to use Insync 1.x.

If you’re on Pro or Business, your annual subscription continues and you still have access to Insync 2.0 since your plans support free version upgrades.

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

No, you can continue to use version 1.x even after 2.0 comes out. But as is usually the case with older software versions, we will eventually stop providing support for Insync 1.x, which is now almost 4 years old (and has already provided a lot of value).

If I upgrade to Prime, will I need to pay again for future major version upgrades?

No.

How and when can I upgrade to Prime?

We are creating an upgrade page slated to release later this month (January 2017). We will send an announcement email to all Plus, Pro and Business customers. Note: for Business, the email will only be sent to the owner.

We have decided to give all @gmail accounts (Plus/Pro/Business) a free upgrade to Prime. All others (@gapps/3rd party) will receive a 30% discount. We think this is quite generous as we use the traditional desktop sales model (i.e. we won’t be able to get upgrade revenue from our @gmail customer base).

How will the upgrade work?

  • Plus (@gmail): this will be done automatically and you will be sent an email once done
  • Plus (@gapps/3rd party): we will send the announcement email for you to decide
  • Pro/Business (@gmail/gapps/3rd party): we will send the announcement email for you to decide whether you want to stay with your current plan or upgrade to Prime. Once you decide to upgrade ANY of the user accounts, you’ll have to either upgrade or cancel each of the other user accounts. For example, let’s say I have 15 employees on the Business plan but want/need to upgrade only 5 of them to Prime, I have the option to upgrade the 5 user accounts, but I’ll have to cancel the others completely (they can’t stay on the Business plan).

Is Prime a bait-and-switch or some other pricing scam?

Sucks that some feel this way but the answer is an emphatic NO. See question 1 above for an explanation.

1 Like
#2

What’s the difference between “@gmail accounts” and “@gapp/3rd party accounts”? When I bought Insync Plus back in Jan 2015, there was no mention of this distinction. My receipt just says “Insync Plus”. Which kind of account do I have? Apparently whether or not I get a free upgrade hinges on …

#3

@gmail accounts (email address looks like name@gmail.com), and gsuite/gapps accounts (i.e. name@company.com)

We’ve decided, as mentioned in the post, to give @gmail accounts a free upgrade to Prime as a gift :slight_smile:

1 Like
#4

Disappointing. Why the distinction?

#5

The Plus license was really guaranteed updates within version 1.x – this follows the traditional desktop software sales model where each major version is a different purchase/paid upgrade (i.e. MS Office 2010 and MS Office 2016). But it’s not a forced upgrade as no one will lose access to Insync (1.x) :slight_smile:

As for the distinction, we wanted to gift customers with a free upgrade (for the confusion these past few days regarding the new pricing) but we simply can’t provide everyone with a free upgrade (as our CEO said, we might not be around much longer if we do so :worried:)

1 Like
Update 2: free Prime promo and upgrade paths
#6

So if my Plus account stops working, for some reason (which could very well be a change Google enacts, but you lot only fix for “2.x”, being there will not be support for 1.x down the line), I would be SOL unless I paid for a brand new license?

There’s a BIG difference between no support for 1.x versions at some point, and no updates for 1.x versions at some point; I highly suggest this be clarified, because it will in fact “force” people to upgrade (read: purchase again) just to use it – Google has changed things multiple times in the past, for little to no reason at all, so I’m fully expecting they’ll eventually do such again.

Furthermore, I really have to question the wisdom of giving “gmail” Plus users a free upgrade – so because I used my personal email and not my Google one to connect my Google Drive to Insync, fuck me, I have to upgrade again? How on earth was that decision made? I can understand free upgrades not being offered to anybody, since it would be a new major version, but who decided to single out people using an arbitrary email client (because which one you used to register Insync has nothing to do with the Google Drive account, only Insync’s emails).

I assume the intention here was to make sure businesses on Pro/Business accounts can’t sneak their foot in the door for a free upgrade when there may be multiple users on that license – that’s a lot of missed revenue. But by the same token, had I known this was coming when I purchased my license (EDIT: only one month ago), I would have stopped and had to think about it – I do have a gmail address, but I wouldn’t like the feeling of having to use it just to make sure you all recognize it as an individual license.

2 Likes
#7

I think your upgrade policy is ridiculously generous
Do you think whoever came up with this policy could be persuaded to go and work for Microsoft please.
My new laptop only came with Windows 10 home and I’d like a free upgrade to pro. Thanks.

1 Like
#8

I think you have seriously misunderstood something.

When I received your first email, I was thinking, cool, a free Prime account for my gmail account, thanks. But wait, what? I gotta pay $21 more to get Prime for my gapps Plus account, other than the $25 I already paid? New customers pay $29.99 to get Prime, but I, an old customer, need to spend a total of $25(what I paid for plus)+$21(the generous 30% offer)=$46 in order to get Prime? Now, not only new customers get a WAY better price than me, gmail account users even get to have it for free? Why does InSync hate old customers? Why does InSync hate Gapps customers?

I want you to know that NOBODY cares about getting a free upgrade. NOBODY cares about paying more to get better functions and updates.

What people care about is “WHY some people get it for free and not me”, and “WHY do I need to spend more than other people”.

I hope y’all get your minds clear now.

4 Likes
#9

Agreed, Making difference between Gmail and Google apps users are not nice. I been an In-sync Pro customer since 2013, I use it with my private personal domain that uses Google Apps. I’m not a business, just a power user who wanted to be able to sync on Linux, and it annoys me that again I get treated different because I choosed to be a Private Google Apps customer back in 2008.

1 Like
#10

it doesn’t make sense to discriminate a @gmail.com or @whatever.com account… it’s google drive anyway… it’s the same service, the same app, the same program, but one has a custom address… it doesn’t make sense…

#11

I find the difference between gapps account and traditional gmail accounts quite disappointing too.
I am using Insync with my school email address, but it is totally for personal use (my school gives me more free space).

Also, because the email went into spam, I missed the free extra Prime membership I could have gotten…

#12

Out of interest, is this still on offer? I would for example use it indeed to get a family member on.

To pick but one of the many complaints about this. Just a short note, that I don’t get the self-rightous position that lies behind all the complaints. Not picking on this one in particular, it’s one of the less huffy ones after all. But wanted to say only that if you can run a business on a $20 or $30 a seat model as a one-off payment to receive endless upgrades and support, come back and table your credentials. But if you imagine yourself with just an hypothetical small software concern to manage, say 5 staff, say the earn $sal per annum and all want to keep doing that, are a great team, and you actually outlay $tot per employee in salary plus distributed on-costs (having an office, and whatever else you face on top of the salaries) then building a growing base of customers that contribute nothing to your annual expenses and consume support services is called business suicide and you won’t see any insync upgrades to be jealous of anyhow.

And if they reason that people using their own domain name (which demonstrates they are happy to pay an annual fee for that) and people who use a free account represent two distinct markets, well, that to me smacks of business acumen, and your complaints as self-righteous naivite.

Just saying. I have no shares in insync ;-). But they have delivered outstanding support and an outstanding product for chicken feed and I am grateful.

3 Likes
#13

Have I missed anything on the upgrade path? I keep looking for the email that was referenced in Terpua’s post in early January, but have not seen it. I would like to upgrade all three of my accounts (and add another one if the free promo is active) to plus.

#14

Will be available soon! Just fixing stuff on the backend :slight_smile:

#15

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.

9 Likes
#16

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…

#17

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!

#18

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.

1 Like
#19

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 :smile:

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.

#20

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.