FR3 pricing/features?
frla
Sweden
Can you announce your intended pricing and what features you will have? I saw that you stated less than $500 for the enterprise edition. I can guess that it will be $495 then... and it makes me worried.
My opinion is that you must justify a 500 % price increase very very much. I have thrown out several component-manufacturers because they decided to raise the pricing to crazy levels.
I would say that $199 is great, $299 would probably be ok but not higher than that. A $99 or $149 upgrade price for existing user would be very reasonable.
Hope you consider my opinion. /Fredrik.
My opinion is that you must justify a 500 % price increase very very much. I have thrown out several component-manufacturers because they decided to raise the pricing to crazy levels.
I would say that $199 is great, $299 would probably be ok but not higher than that. A $99 or $149 upgrade price for existing user would be very reasonable.
Hope you consider my opinion. /Fredrik.
Comments
I'm looking at our competitors' prices. Noone have a "$99 product".
And very few serious developers buy components without sources. So the other options is not there.
But I don't know exatly how mutch you get with FR3 and how stable it is, so I might be wrong.
you can currently purchase v2.52 for $99 (which includes run-time designer, scripts, dialog forms and sources) or you can "upgrade" (I use the term upgrade lightly) to v3 which will have "no run-time designer, no scripts, no dialog forms, no sources (users of FR2.x get this version for free)". Or you can buy the 'proper' upgrade for around $500!
While I appreciate all the extra work you have done for this new version (as you have said it has been rewritten), I think it is unfair to charge existing customers nearly $500 each for what was your choice in doing a complete rewrite which ultimately will make your life easier regards support or adding new features.
From what I can gather the MAIN ADDITION to the actual core is HTML support. All others are IMPROVEMENTS (like better WYSIWYG, better Dot Matrix support, better Scripting) - this is all stuff that I've already worked around or doesn't bother me that much.
You have set a precedent by charging $99 for an excellent reporting tool that compares well with others like Rave. By charging such a low price, you get/have got the volume of users but by increasing the price, FastReport will blend into the background along with other reporting tools. Budget price = lots of users!
In short, at its current price ($99) it represents excellent value for money and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending it to any other developer but if the price is hiked by 500% I have serious misgivings.
Regards,
Azza
$99 - Basic Edition
no sources, no run-time designer, no scripts, no dialog forms
$179 - Standard
no sources, no run-time designer
$249 - Professional
no sources
$349 - Enterprise
full source code
$449 - Server
same as Enterprise + report server components
Prices will be reduced by $99 for registered users of FR2.x and by $79 for registered users of FastScript.
Because 2.52 has sources, run-time designer, scripts and dialog forms. That would mean that v.3 should be 3,5 times better than 2.52. And that would mean that we should have an extreme amount of new possibilites then? I don't belive that the new version can be that good. And since this is the first completely rewritten version, there are going to be a good amount of bugs surfacing at least the first year out in the field.
Do you think we should drop prices back to $99?
I would say noone. And if anyone do, it's because they have done no research on the net, and had QR before. Everyone who uses FR does research on the net.
But I agree that it can't cost 99$ anymore. But 349$ is to mutch of a lift, if you want a bigger amount of customers. 249$ with all sources, and 199$ for registered users of 2.5 would be better. If you get 1000 customers with a price of 249$ and 100 customers with a price of 349$, what would you choose?
I think we should think the price's inscape, the support should have some percentage, but fr's support....
And the source to developer's effect, Much is a guaranty, there is no other mean or actual function, so the add price is too much!
Believe us Alex !
I know, i have used Rave before i come to Fast Report, after the price upgrade of Rave.
But when you stand by this price upgrade, then i need to search for a new report engine and that i don't like becose i like FastReport a lot.
Not that i like you to oppress you or what so effer but, i can't pay that mutch of money, and i need the source becose i need to modify it olways becose i the way i use Fast Report in my applications.
I hoop you reconsider the prices.
Thanks Niels v/d Spek
LumenSoft Int.
Here are some ideas that I could live with.
Here are some ideas on DCU only pricing
$79 for basic with no R/T editing. STd
$99 w R/T editing, Pro
$199 for Enterprise.
Source access could be priced per year at an additional $99 for Pro and $149 for Ent.
Exisitng FR 2.x users should have opportunity to get upgrade for like features for
(source lice for 1yr and DCU for basic point upgrades)
Pro w/source $99
Ent w/source for $149
Please consider that you may be pricing your product out of reach and your only other competitor pricewise is ReportManager which is free. I have tried RM and I continue to use FR 100% of the time. I just finished converting my last app from using Crystal reports to FR and my clients are very happy.
I have always referred to FR2.x as the report engine for those of us who have champagne tastes and beer pockets.
But from what I have seen of FR3, I am sure I'd upgrade. Of course I'd expect some serious value adding. Like (listening, Alex?) competent PDF export.
Irrespective of all the arguments in this thread, like any other product it will stand or fall according to its merits.
Remember QR? I do!
Regards
i think fastreports price is correct, and its fare.
but dot-matrix support must be better.
To say:
post May 13 2004, 11:08 AM
Post #12 Advanced Member
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Group: FR Team
Posts: 2982
Joined: 16-October 03
Member No.: 4
"Well, I know peoples who use Rave or ReportBuilder. Look at their prices..."
You are an add=on product, and yes better than many but we have to have source to do what you don't do for us and to cover our butts if you raise your prices like RB and start loosing customers. The SOURCE
is more of a safety net for us in case FR get too greedy like many VCL vendors have and loose their base. I started a hornets nest an the way Delphi has been priced and how professional has almost been
cut out of the market a useful tool. With Advantage, FireDAC and other products we don't need BCB and other products sitting on our shelves and Embarcadero has hurt themselves over the years thinking
they needed to sell a Visual Studios and then came up with Android and Linux and have priced those tools out of the reach of most of the products they are used to develop which is hurting the entire market. I know so
many people that left Delphi due to cost and bundling and as a Microsoft partner I can get VS for much less than Delphi and iOS/Android,FireDac add-ons. Keep your prices down and your source is our insurance policy and gobble up some
of the drippings from the other vendor. You and MIDA have packaged part of your products with Delphi and I am beginning t0 wonder why I am buying both twice and how much more functionality to we get by buying more from each of you.
Maybe we are helping EMB to fatten the Delphi prices again but only if you act fast and buy before the bugs are gone or let the early birds set all the little extras.
So now you will cost us as much as the development tool just like all of the other VCLs started to do so you know what we did? Cut them from our budget as we can add a little extra code here and there and
get some of what we need.
I may have just heard, "Stay with RB and save on the conversions". Exactly what I did not want to hear.
My four cents,
Regards, Dan