Zoot 9 Behavior After License Expiration

[jw]

Hi Tom,

I notice that your new pricing is for either 1, 2, or 3 years instead of by version license.

Once the key expires then what happens?

Are we just not able to install updates after that?

Does the software refuse to function?

Does it revert to nagware?

Or something else?

Thanks,

Joe

[Tom Davis]

Ah, sorry - I'll have to make this clearer on the website.  If you click through, you do get a better explanation.

 

Once the key expires you can continue to use the version of Zoot you have - there are no nags or limitations. 

 

To update to a newer version, you'll have to update to a current key, which is 50% of the current price of the software.  So at the current price of $30, that would be:

 

$15 for 1 year

$30 for 2 years

$45 for 3 years

 

Or as the clever marketers say ... about a dollar a month.  🙃

 

---

 

For those who just use Zoot for a few this-or-that functions, they can choose to not update, and maybe wait 5 years and then buy the software new for $30 to get an update.

 

I just didn't want to get into the software subscription business, where you have to add your credit card to Zoot, and then get charged $7 a month just to use the software, and then you forget about the subscription, and Zoot charges you $7 a month for 15 years until you notice that you don't even use it anymore.

 

In summary, this is the best pricing model I could come up with. 🙂

 

---

 

Now the WHY of all of this change is a bit more complicated, but I'll try to break it down into bullet points:

 

* Nobody will pay $100 for software anymore.  Most people won't pay anything for software anymore. They'll simply adjust to whatever is free.  So I can't charge $100 up front and then provide free upgrades and support for a decade, as I have in the past.

 

* Some people will pay a small amount for software, if there is a good value proposition, but they don't want to be locked into a subscription model.  I count myself in this group.

 

* So I offer up Zoot for $30 and if the software is of enough value, the user will update the key once a year for $15.  That ensures that I can keep Zoot going no matter what, as there are significant fixed costs to keeping it going.

 

For current Zooters thinking about the update, I can only say that I've been working on Z9 for over 2 years now, full time, typically 7 days a week.  So there is a lot of new. 

 

I'll be showcasing the new very soon.

 

Tom Davis
Zoot Software
t...@zootsoftware.com

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From: jw [jsw...@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 2, 2023 10:50 AM
To: ZOOTERS [zoo...@googlegroups.com]
Subject: RE: [ZOOT] Zoot 9 Behavior After License Expiration

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[jw]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for that explanation. I too do not like subscriptions for anything and wanted to understand it  before I renewed.

I am a user since Zoot 3.5, starting  I think around 2000.

For software like Zoot that I use regularly it is somehow psychologically easier for me to pay $ 100 for software that may require an upgrade in 5 years than to pay for a subscription that is $ 30 + $ 15/yr x 4 = $ 90.

Your model is good though since the software will still work fine after the license expires.

Web site seems clear now since you mention perpetual license to use indefinitely.

Thanks,

Joe

[Roy Appletree]

Tom,

As long as you are sharing the secrets of software writers, can you answer this question?

Why does the new version of Zoot have the longest license number I've ever seen?  (No problem of course because of cut and paste)

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/zoot-xt/44E539D1F81159540960E9985D6466E1.451099630671296%40gmail.com.

[Tom Davis]

For software like Zoot that I use regularly it is somehow
psychologically easier for me to pay $ 100 for software that may
require an upgrade in 5 years than to pay for a subscription that is
$ 30 + $ 15/yr x 4 = $ 90.

Imagine a new user confronted with a $100 price tag!

 

I looked at a lot of pricing models and this is the only one that made any sense.  $30 is pretty much the ceiling for boutique software these days.  I'm paying $30 for a file search program UltraSearch which I use because the default Windows file search is so dreadful.

[Tom Davis]

lol - the encryption adds a lot of fluff.  🔐

Tom Davis
Zoot Software
t...@zootsoftware.com

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From: Roy Appletree [roy.ap...@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, July 3, 2023 05:29 PM
To: Zoot Google Group [zoo...@googlegroups.com]
Subject: Re: [ZOOT] Zoot 9 Behavior After License Expiration

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/zoot-xt/CAF5%2B0rzErC6a6JMOseCDMnEcHWgPAwOU9ktYUe6KMXYcfBmgxw%40mail.gmail.com.