Thanks! It's not a secret: we believe this model offers more value to the customer and better fits our vision. We tried subscriptions and had moderate success, but we never felt we were connecting with our users. There is no reason for users to pay us $10, as we offer a 7-day free trial, which is more than enough to animate one SVG. Also, we reset the trial every time we introduce a more important new feature so people can try and assess the software again for free. In the last 3 months we had two trial resets.
Of course, in the meantime, they brought new features and regressions, but the core technology remained the same, so I have an excellent insight into that product. I would say that the main differentiator is the team behind the product. Ours is better, and your experience as a customer will also be better with us.
Great, thanks for the feedback! We'll revise the wording if it generates so much confusion. Drop me a line at support@expressive.app after you try it and let me know how it went.
Thanks! We primarily focus on SVG animations, while Rive has its proprietary format and player. SVG animations run natively in the browser and don't require a player. By having their own format and player, they are not limited by standards and can, naturally, provide more features. Of course, this comes with disadvantages too, as users get vendor-locked. Also, they have a subscription-based model, while we offer perpetual licenses for a one-off payment.
What is confusing? Since the launch, we have released 10 updates, and we'll continue to release new updates until v1 reaches its EOL. Then, the updates will stop, but you will still be able to use the software. It seems pretty straightforward to me.
I sell software with a similar licence. I'd say that get access to all features and upcoming updates is incompatible with Then, the updates will stop. At a very minimum it's confusing, but it sounds fairly deceptive to me. I think being really clear about what users will receive is paramount, even if it ends up making the messaging confusing.
Thank you for sharing your opinion. The primary reason people buy Expressive Animator is its high quality. The perpetual license is just a bonus. It's sad to hear words like "deceptive" from a fellow entrepreneur, but don't worry, I've grown a thick skin over the last years.
> The primary reason people buy Expressive Animator is its high quality
You keep talking past people.
The feedback they're sharing is very simple. It's not super clear from your sales copy if my purchase gets me access to all updates forever, or if those are limited to the current major version. The way you're intending it to work is simple, yes, but your sales copy doesn't reflect that.
It seems like an easily solvable problem, tweak your sales copy to clarify, but instead you keep digging your heels. Fine, it's your company. I'm not a lawyer, but generally I'd be worried about making a bunch of sales if its not clear to my customers what exactly their buying. I don't get why you'd take such a chance when the fix is so simple, but again, it's your company.
'Lifetime' not only has a Legacy meaning of 'updates forever', but is still used in a less disingenuous way by major products such as Plex [1]. The reactions you've got on this page are a clear indication to abandon the deceptive wording that you lead with (the truth being hidden in an accordian FAQ).
TBH, I'm a bit surprised by this interpretation, as we don't have this problem with customers. Maybe it's an HN thing. I think we were only asked once or twice about how updates work. I'll take a look at CleanShot though. Thanks!
Have you hit the point where they have to pay again, yet?
My product was originally offered as “one time purchase, one year of updates”, and the customer confusion/anger didn’t show up until I offered a discounted early renewal over Black Friday a few years back.
