Is anybody else afraid to buy software these days? There are a few apps that I’d like to buy, yet at this moment, the chance that they might become available for free is causing me to wait. It’s a basic economic principle: expectations of lower prices in the future decreases demand in the present. That a developer may just start handing out free licenses tomorrow is a concern that could prevent people from spending money today.
I’m not even thinking about the developer’s plight once all of those revenue eschewing licensees begin needing support, or the tightrope developers have to walk when setting their prices. You can refer to John Gruber’s Pinprick for an eloquent analysis on these things. What I’m thinking about is the fact that I have a desire to own some software, yet there is a phenomenon in the Mac community that’s discouraging me from purchasing it. (Ironically enough, the phenomenon’s chief objective is to encourage me to buy it.)
If a developer doesn’t intend to offer his or her app for free, there should be some way of saying so. Maybe a badge on the site. With a nice gradient. That’s the ticket. In the meantime, I’m going to be waiting on the sidelines. I have a hard time believing I’ll be alone.
I can't believe I'm reading this. Listen, if you want it, and if it has value to you, then pay the developer the $10 or $20 he's asking.
If everyone waits it "may" end up being free... or the developer may just pull the software and the site he can no longer run for free.
Don't be a leech.
Your point is well taken, but my feeling (perhaps I should say 'hope') is that the majority of Mac users already support (through monetary or other donations) free software. To many, it does not matter that a license once paid for is now free; if it's a useful tool, we would still pay to support its development. Indeed, these are the same type of people that would charitably purchase DF shirts even if Gruber provided a free Linked List feed.
Michael and Shakti,
I agree with both of you. Note the title of this post, and please do not think that it advocates shafting any Mac developer. The point that I make is merely that I think that this free software "explosion" might be detrimental to the Mac development community. While you or I or another person might eschew such promotions and pay full price anyway, people tend to behave differently.
I was examining the macro-environment using a micro-example (myself). People aren't going to pay today for something they can have for free tomorrow. If the possibility of their purchase becoming unnecessary looms over the horizon, they'll wait.
I like the thought of free software promotions being displays of gratitude towards the customers, and I like the thought of paying a small developer for his or her work. Buying a DF t-shirt is a great thing and I think that everybody should do so.
Using free software as a strategy to gain revenue, though, just doesn't add up, and it's my belief that it harms the Mac development community as a whole.
Michael, are you then referring exclusively to "free promotions" from major Mac development firms? How do you define a small developer? This analysis approaches a slippery slope rather quickly!
Not to disparage Mac developers, but for me the whole experience has been somewhat of a giant advertisement for AppZapper.
The cycle: I download an app. I play with it for five minutes. Then I realize it has no use for me. I close it and never open it again.
I like getting free, useful software, but so far the only app I've found useful and received for free is pzizz. I'm hoping that the cycle will break and I'll be able to add more to that list in the coming days.
Ultimately an app's usefulness is what makes it a purchase, but I'm holding off buying shareware priced above that $20-$30 magic number in hopes they become discounted on these newfangled discount/giveaway sites.
If one one these apps has the potential to become a free app on a giveaway site that only increases the chance that I'd hold off on purchasing it.
I've done more than my share of supporting developers by buying licenses and upgrades, and I'm not attacking anyone's price point.
However, if I can't afford shareware that's tempting I will play the waiting game, and that's what's happening when I see these giveaway sites. I can only wonder how many other people are doing the same because the mass market loves free regardless of merit.