5 ms·

Great software for half off doesn't seem like a scam to me. The app still works.

by sammcd 14y ago

ceejayoz 14y ago
Timing a sale right before an announcement you're well aware will drop sales numbers off a steep cliff looks pretty deceptive to me.
- johns 14y ago
  Deals fall apart at the last minute all. the. time. You can't just stop doing business.
  - ceejayoz 14y ago
    You can delay your half-off sale for a week.
  - look_lookatme 14y ago
    So buyers are just a hedge?
- thematt 14y ago
  It's a standalone app, it's not going to stop functioning. $4.99 is a deal, regardless of whether there would be future versions or not.
  - ceejayoz 14y ago
    > $4.99 is a deal, regardless of whether there would be future versions or not. Then they should've put it on sale for $4.99 today, after the announcement, with a note in the description that it will no longer receive new features. If it's indeed a deal, surely all the people who bought last week would've bought this week.
  - danieldk 14y ago
    Yes, but it needs security updates and possibly bug fixes. That's the very least you'd expect when purchasing software. I bought Sparrow for the iPhone and Mac directly after they were released and really never used them. But imagine that you just bought either Sparrow a few days ago, or even worse, made it part of your workflow. It sucks. On the other hand, it's always an inherent danger with proprietary software. Open software gets maintained by Debian for like forever ;). I learnt that lesson after the demise of Be Inc.
minikites 14y ago
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4271587 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4271587 "I didn't buy Sparrow thinking I was paying for a piece of software that was feature-complete. I bought Sparrow mail as a piece of innovative software along with the promise of lots of great future updates to come." I agree with this. I bought Sparrow when it had a pretty big bug with folder management on my IMAP account. I emailed them and they fixed it in an update, but there was still lots of room for Sparrow to grow (If Apple allows them to do push, other integration with the OS like Siri, etc). It looks like Sparrow will turn into the Gmail client for iOS, which is a shit sandwich for everyone who doesn't use Gmail.
- mikeash 14y ago
  If you're buying something based on potential future improvements, and promises for those improvements are not part of the deal, then you have only yourself to blame if it doesn't work out. They have no obligation to conform to your expectations. If you don't want to have problems like this, then only buy software that actually does what you need right now.
smashing 14y ago
Maybe $4.99 is a lot of money to him. It could be the amount which makes or breaks his startup. ;)

Great software for half off doesn't seem like a scam to me. The app still works.

by sammcd 14y ago

Great software for half off doesn't seem like a scam to me. The app still works.

Timing a sale right before an announcement you're well aware will drop sales numbers off a steep cliff looks pretty deceptive to me.

johns 14y ago
Deals fall apart at the last minute all. the. time. You can't just stop doing business.
- ceejayoz 14y ago
  You can delay your half-off sale for a week.
- look_lookatme 14y ago
  So buyers are just a hedge?
thematt 14y ago
It's a standalone app, it's not going to stop functioning. $4.99 is a deal, regardless of whether there would be future versions or not.
- ceejayoz 14y ago
  > $4.99 is a deal, regardless of whether there would be future versions or not. Then they should've put it on sale for $4.99 today, after the announcement, with a note in the description that it will no longer receive new features. If it's indeed a deal, surely all the people who bought last week would've bought this week.
- danieldk 14y ago
  Yes, but it needs security updates and possibly bug fixes. That's the very least you'd expect when purchasing software. I bought Sparrow for the iPhone and Mac directly after they were released and really never used them. But imagine that you just bought either Sparrow a few days ago, or even worse, made it part of your workflow. It sucks. On the other hand, it's always an inherent danger with proprietary software. Open software gets maintained by Debian for like forever ;). I learnt that lesson after the demise of Be Inc.

minikites 14y ago

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4271587 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4271587 "I didn't buy Sparrow thinking I was paying for a piece of software that was feature-complete. I bought Sparrow mail as a piece of innovative software along with the promise of lots of great future updates to come." I agree with this. I bought Sparrow when it had a pretty big bug with folder management on my IMAP account. I emailed them and they fixed it in an update, but there was still lots of room for Sparrow to grow (If Apple allows them to do push, other integration with the OS like Siri, etc). It looks like Sparrow will turn into the Gmail client for iOS, which is a shit sandwich for everyone who doesn't use Gmail.

mikeash 14y ago
If you're buying something based on potential future improvements, and promises for those improvements are not part of the deal, then you have only yourself to blame if it doesn't work out. They have no obligation to conform to your expectations. If you don't want to have problems like this, then only buy software that actually does what you need right now.

smashing 14y ago

Maybe $4.99 is a lot of money to him. It could be the amount which makes or breaks his startup. ;)