It's not a technical problem and it's not a contractual problem. It's a trust problem. Your business hasn't established a level of trust with your customers for them to believe you.
Until you have that trust, don't offer a "lifetime" anything.
I think that would be true for more expensive things or for B2E sales. At $24, I really don't care. If I get a year out of that it would be the same as paying the monthly fee. Of course others may feel differently.
Back when they used to charge a few dollars to download the app I bought the Ultimate Guitar App (https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/)
Honestly been pleasantly surprised now that they've had a subscription model for years and have honored my app purchase from probably over ten years ago
I'd get the 1.9 deal anytime, if it's so good I end up using it more than a year I'll happily pay twice the lifetime price in the end.
If it's like 99% other products that offer bulk deals, I don't know such a long time ahead whether I'll end up using it that much. The expectation of savings by taking the "worse" short-term deal is higher than taking the supposed advantageous lifetime/bulk deal in my case.
I'd say well over 85% of the time, I "know" the bulk deal is the better one for me - I might do the 'cheaper' option once (in this case, the $1.90 for the first month), and then convert to the 'bulk' deal as soon as I know I like it
...but personal experience has shown that if I'm going to like something for a month, I'm going to like it a lot longer :)
One tip and I know its not easy to think about this but don't make me create an account to test yet another page builder. Not when you are unknown in a crowded space and you need to show more value before asking for account creation. Just my 2 cents.
Speaking of "unknown", I would be more inclined to do $1.9/Month and then cancel if it doesn't work for me. Plus I am not interested in lifetime deals because that reduces my value as a customer and you don't want a customer who only paid you once.
None. The moment you make me choose, you already lost me.
Besides, who needs a "lifetime" subscription for anything tech-related? If any for my domain and email, but even for them I pay regularly every now and then.
(Not sure if they are A/B testing prices since the OP says $24/lifetime)
It is a no-brainer. I'll go with the monthly pay-as-you-go.
If after 6 months, I am still satisfied, I would upgrade to the yearly.
If after 6 months, I am not satisfied, I would cancel.
The entire experiment would have cost me $12 worst case (and hopefully there were some leads generated and the cost paid for itself). That is just me though.
If a lifetime price is under say $35, I’ll always pay it if I even kinda like the software — assuming something that’s anywhere from a few bucks a month to a few bucks a year. It’s not that much money to me and I don’t have to think about canceling a subscription in the future.
$50 is about the point where I won’t pay it if there’s a monthly/yearly option.
It’s not super logical but it is what it is.
I also know that lifetime doesn’t mean lifetime. APIs change, businesses change, shit happens. I do appreciate it when the developer does their best to give me something for that lifetime membership. But I don’t lose my mind and cry about being hoodwinked like so many people seem to do.
It’s spilt milk under the bridge and I’m happy to start paying a subscription if I have to for something I really like.
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[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 53.7 ms ] thread1. These offers are not for your lifetime, but for the lifetime of the company, which may not be that long.
2. If the company does live a long time and becomes successful, it often reneges on these lifetime offers.
It's not a technical problem and it's not a contractual problem. It's a trust problem. Your business hasn't established a level of trust with your customers for them to believe you.
Until you have that trust, don't offer a "lifetime" anything.
Honestly been pleasantly surprised now that they've had a subscription model for years and have honored my app purchase from probably over ten years ago
At $1.90/mo, by month 13 you've spent more than $24
If it's like 99% other products that offer bulk deals, I don't know such a long time ahead whether I'll end up using it that much. The expectation of savings by taking the "worse" short-term deal is higher than taking the supposed advantageous lifetime/bulk deal in my case.
...but personal experience has shown that if I'm going to like something for a month, I'm going to like it a lot longer :)
As somebody who runs a SaaS business: don't offer lifetime. Generous 24 month plan maybe, anything with an expiry. https://www.indiehackers.com/post/dont-offer-lifetime-deals-...
Speaking of "unknown", I would be more inclined to do $1.9/Month and then cancel if it doesn't work for me. Plus I am not interested in lifetime deals because that reduces my value as a customer and you don't want a customer who only paid you once.
Besides, who needs a "lifetime" subscription for anything tech-related? If any for my domain and email, but even for them I pay regularly every now and then.
> $1.9/mo | $17.0/yr | $299.9/lifetime
(Not sure if they are A/B testing prices since the OP says $24/lifetime)
It is a no-brainer. I'll go with the monthly pay-as-you-go.
If after 6 months, I am still satisfied, I would upgrade to the yearly. If after 6 months, I am not satisfied, I would cancel.
The entire experiment would have cost me $12 worst case (and hopefully there were some leads generated and the cost paid for itself). That is just me though.
$50 is about the point where I won’t pay it if there’s a monthly/yearly option.
It’s not super logical but it is what it is.
I also know that lifetime doesn’t mean lifetime. APIs change, businesses change, shit happens. I do appreciate it when the developer does their best to give me something for that lifetime membership. But I don’t lose my mind and cry about being hoodwinked like so many people seem to do.
It’s spilt milk under the bridge and I’m happy to start paying a subscription if I have to for something I really like.