Actually, fees for upgrading to new versions of ShopSite have been posted on
the web site since last July, see:
http://www.shopsite.com/upgrade_pricing.htmlHowever these fees were only for merchants no longer hosted at an active
partner (the page was recently updated to mention v6.) You are correct that
active partners have historically received upgrades for free.
As for more advanced notice, it was only recently that the decision to
charge an upgrade fee was made and the technical process to track an upgrade
was implemented.
We will be running a discount to merchants and our partners for those that
upgrade in the next several months. Likewise, if someone purchases version
5.x now that we have announced 6.x, we will not charge them to upgrade if
they do so during this promotional period. The promotional details will be
public in the next few weeks.
Note that a one-time license is just that, the merchant gets to use that
license on that store for as long as he or she likes. However, it does not
entail free upgrades forever. Also note that some partners are on a monthly
store subscription payment schedule. Typically, there is no additional
charge to partners on the monthly schedule for upgrades. But, a partner may
charge a fee for any effort to upgrade a store.
We are generally flexible about which payment method a merchant/partner
selects (one-time vs. monthly). They can decide what works best for their
needs and the types of clients they are targeting.
There are all kinds of reasons to explain why we are charging for upgrades
and why we feel they are fair. But you can probably guess most of them so I
won't go into this any more than the clarifications/explanations I have
already made on behalf of the company.
I'm sure you will find the new features in 6.0 well worth any upgrade fee.
We are trying to be fair in our pricing while still offering you a product
with the features you are asking for.
Sincerely,
David Hills
ShopSite, Inc.
"Brandon" <brandon@2bigfeet.com> wrote in message
news:a49je3$q5m$1@support.shopsite.com...
I'm not saying I disagree with a paid upgrade. On the contrary, I think
it's
a great idea if they'll actually release updates when they say they're
going
to.
However, they have ALWAYS been free in the past, and I've neard nothing
about this release being paid since they announced it, until now. I don't
agree with all of a sudden charging a fee without letting everyone know
beforehand.
And it may simply be my host trying to make some extra $$$, but they did
say
that SHOPSITE is charging them the fee, so they are passing it on to the
customer.
Brandon
webmaster@chinasprout.com> wrote in message
news:3C63236A.27AD9239@chinasprout.com...
Good point, Barney. However, there should be some suggested "free
upgrade
window" for people who purchased the products only a few months ago or
if
you
plan on up-upgrading from Manager to Pro.
Joachim
Barney Stone wrote:
Most shopping carts charge by the month or the year. Lack of
continuing
revenue from ShopSite was probably one of the reasons that Open Market
lost
interest in it. Frankly, I was always amazed that ShopSite upgrades
were
free even years after the original purchase.
If you want to keep ShopSite alive and evolving, you should consider a
couple of hundred bucks every year or so for improved versions a good
investment.
- Barney Stone, President
Stone Edge Technologies, Inc.
215-641-1837
www.ShopSiteUtilities.com"Larry Bohen" <lbohen@audiobooksonline.com> wrote in message
news:a3ul2i$q70$1@support.shopsite.com...
I haven't heard from our ShopSite host (Lexiconn) yet. ShopSite's
press
release for V6 says "Pricing for ShopSite Pro v.6.0 is $1,295 for a
one-time/license fee." I take this "one-time license fee" to mean
upgrades
are free.
I don't know how ShopSite's competitors handle upgrades (fee or
free),
and
they (ShopSite) must take competitors practices into consideration,
but if
I
were assured of having a first-class ecommerce package from
ShopSite,
I
might not mind an upgrade fee occasionally.
"Brandon" <brandon@2bigfeet.com> wrote in message
news:a3ucif$pep$1@support.shopsite.com...
I just talked to my host about upgrading our ShopSite store to
version
6.0
and they said that ShopSite is now charging a fee to upgrade!
As long as we've had to wait for this update it should be FREE.
$79 to upgrade Manager
$195 to upgrade Pro
I think it's rediculus. I can understand upgrade costs but to not
let us
know until now that the previously FREE upgrades were going to
cost
money...
after months and months of waiting for 6.0 to come out.
I'm very dissapointed.
Brandon Eley
www.2BigFeet.comwww.CreativeDrive.net