Re: WebCatalog Upgrade Pricing?
This WebDNA talk-list message is from 1997
It keeps the original formatting.
numero = 15011
interpreted = N
texte = Grant,The only effect your response had is to increase my frustration levels even more. Let me explain the situation from this customer's point-of-view...>>I am a registered user of WebCatalog. My serial number has expired. Does >>anybody here know what it costs to upgrade WebCatalog? > >First off, I don't see how your WebCatalog 1.6.1 serial# could have >expired...we don't make serial numbers that expire, unless you're talking >about a demo.Okay, I'll rephrase my question... I am a registered WebCatalog customer. The time period for which I am allowed a free upgrade to a newer version of WebCatalog has ended. Does anybody on this list know how much an upgrade to the latest version of WebCatalog would cost me today?My WebCatalog serial# works fine for 2.0b13, and that came out within the one year time frame, so I should be able to use that version if I wish. It is stable. And it is not a demo. Am I wrong (you sent it to me)?>Second, if you were happy with WebCatalog 1.6.1 up until now, you may find >that Typhoon is sufficient for your needs. Typhoon only supports a single >database, just as WebCatalog 1.6.1 did (but Typhoon has no eCommerce >features).What do you mean? I've loved WebCat since it first started to click in my head. I still love it. All I wanted to know is whether or not I can afford an upgrade at this time. That's all. Nothing more. Nothing less.>We sent out thousands of emails (and phone calls and letters) to our >registered customers back when we released 2.0, and offered very >reasonable upgrade prices then. That was months ago, so those incentives >are probably not valid any more. WebCatalog 2.0 introduced so many new >features that it became comparable (and in many cases superior) to our >competitor's $10,000 and $15,000 products, so we knew that it was a >bargain at $2,495. This is not profit to us; we earn every penny in tech >support and continuing engineering efforts. Unlike 1.6.1, the new product >handles unlimited storefronts/databases, vastly superior flexibility, true >multihoming, and numerous other goodies that make your site(s) profitable.Grant, this response generates more questions than answers. I asked what I believe is a legitimate question, and as an early supporter and buyer of WebCatalog, I think I deserve a better reply than the smoke and mirrors I see above. My confusion is genuine, and I'm sure others on this list would like to know if there will be an upgrade path available for what they have purchased. The big corporation buyers may not care, but a little guy like me does.I could be mistaken because I'm thinking of software in the wrong terms. For example, I still haven't upgraded to PhotoShop 4.0, yet I expect Adobe, or a reseller, to sell me the upgrade when I am ready. Along those lines, I still haven't upgraded to the released version of WebCatalog 2.0, but I would consider it, if the price were right. I can't make the decision without a price though. And upgrade pricing for WebCatalog has not been easy for me to obtain. BTW, the only offer I received (maybe it's because I'm in Canada?) was valid for 15 days only, and I didn't have enough money during those fifteen days (I've got two great kids, and sorry, but they come before any software offer in world). If you like, I can post the offer I received on the list here, or send it back to you by private email to refresh your memory.>While I am in engineering and cannot give you accurate pricing, >robynw@smithmicro.com will instantly help you out, either on the phone >or via email. She'll be in on Monday. I'm sure we can cut you a deal of >some kind since you're already an owner of the previous product.You see what I mean? Not even you, and you work there, can tell me the current cost of an upgrade. That is *precisely* why I made the original post. Pure frustration. And please stop calling anything before version 2.0 the previous product. That type of slippery talk just makes me even more frustrated. It is worse than no reply at all. It begs the question...at what point will WebCatalog 2.x become just the previous product?I bought something called WebCatalog direct from Pacific Coast Software, for which Jay gave me the MacZone price because the MacZone price was substantially less than the Pacific Coast online store. The PDF docs that came with the CGI product I bought call it WebCatalog thoughout the manual. You may have even wrote the darn thing.I was under the impression that all WebCat sales are now done through StarNine. If I would have known that I can still buy directly from Pacific Coast do you really think that I would have been trying StarNine several times over the last two weeks, and as recently as an email on Thursday?On a brighter note... a few days ago I was thinking about voting for THE 1st ANNUAL BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE AWARDS that has been going around on several of the lists. I've been buying Macintosh software for 12 years and two names came immediately to mind as the best in the business...Clearway (the FireSite people) and Pacific Coast. I still feel that way tonight, and I doubt it will change anytime soon.I will be contacting Robyn for WebCatalog upgrade pricing.Peace.Wendell
Associated Messages, from the most recent to the oldest:
Grant,The only effect your response had is to increase my frustration levels even more. Let me explain the situation from this customer's point-of-view...>>I am a registered user of WebCatalog. My serial number has expired. Does >>anybody here know what it costs to upgrade WebCatalog? > >First off, I don't see how your WebCatalog 1.6.1 serial# could have >expired...we don't make serial numbers that expire, unless you're talking >about a demo.Okay, I'll rephrase my question... I am a registered WebCatalog customer. The time period for which I am allowed a free upgrade to a newer version of WebCatalog has ended. Does anybody on this list know how much an upgrade to the latest version of WebCatalog would cost me today?My WebCatalog serial# works fine for 2.0b13, and that came out within the one year time frame, so I should be able to use that version if I wish. It is stable. And it is not a demo. Am I wrong (you sent it to me)?>Second, if you were happy with WebCatalog 1.6.1 up until now, you may find >that Typhoon is sufficient for your needs. Typhoon only supports a single >database, just as WebCatalog 1.6.1 did (but Typhoon has no eCommerce >features).What do you mean? I've loved WebCat since it first started to click in my head. I still love it. All I wanted to know is whether or not I can afford an upgrade at this time. That's all. Nothing more. Nothing less.>We sent out thousands of emails (and phone calls and letters) to our >registered customers back when we released 2.0, and offered very >reasonable upgrade prices then. That was months ago, so those incentives >are probably not valid any more. WebCatalog 2.0 introduced so many new >features that it became comparable (and in many cases superior) to our >competitor's $10,000 and $15,000 products, so we knew that it was a >bargain at $2,495. This is not profit to us; we earn every penny in tech >support and continuing engineering efforts. Unlike 1.6.1, the new product >handles unlimited storefronts/databases, vastly superior flexibility, true >multihoming, and numerous other goodies that make your site(s) profitable.Grant, this response generates more questions than answers. I asked what I believe is a legitimate question, and as an early supporter and buyer of WebCatalog, I think I deserve a better reply than the smoke and mirrors I see above. My confusion is genuine, and I'm sure others on this list would like to know if there will be an upgrade path available for what they have purchased. The big corporation buyers may not care, but a little guy like me does.I could be mistaken because I'm thinking of software in the wrong terms. For example, I still haven't upgraded to PhotoShop 4.0, yet I expect Adobe, or a reseller, to sell me the upgrade when I am ready. Along those lines, I still haven't upgraded to the released version of WebCatalog 2.0, but I would consider it, if the price were right. I can't make the decision without a price though. And upgrade pricing for WebCatalog has not been easy for me to obtain. BTW, the only offer I received (maybe it's because I'm in Canada?) was valid for 15 days only, and I didn't have enough money during those fifteen days (I've got two great kids, and sorry, but they come before any software offer in world). If you like, I can post the offer I received on the list here, or send it back to you by private email to refresh your memory.>While I am in engineering and cannot give you accurate pricing, >robynw@smithmicro.com will instantly help you out, either on the phone >or via email. She'll be in on Monday. I'm sure we can cut you a deal of >some kind since you're already an owner of the previous product.You see what I mean? Not even you, and you work there, can tell me the current cost of an upgrade. That is *precisely* why I made the original post. Pure frustration. And please stop calling anything before version 2.0 the previous product. That type of slippery talk just makes me even more frustrated. It is worse than no reply at all. It begs the question...at what point will WebCatalog 2.x become just the previous product?I bought something called WebCatalog direct from Pacific Coast Software, for which Jay gave me the MacZone price because the MacZone price was substantially less than the Pacific Coast online store. The PDF docs that came with the CGI product I bought call it WebCatalog thoughout the manual. You may have even wrote the darn thing.I was under the impression that all WebCat sales are now done through StarNine. If I would have known that I can still buy directly from Pacific Coast do you really think that I would have been trying StarNine several times over the last two weeks, and as recently as an email on Thursday?On a brighter note... a few days ago I was thinking about voting for THE 1st ANNUAL BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE AWARDS that has been going around on several of the lists. I've been buying Macintosh software for 12 years and two names came immediately to mind as the best in the business...Clearway (the FireSite people) and Pacific Coast. I still feel that way tonight, and I doubt it will change anytime soon.I will be contacting Robyn for WebCatalog upgrade pricing.Peace.Wendell
Wendell B. Kozak
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