Blackthorne Software Discussion Forum: Seller's Assistant Release: How Long Will AA Pro v 2.35 Continue to Work? 12 Mos?

By Miles Castle on Wednesday, February 07, 2001 - 02:31 pm:

John: I started using AA when it was in its infancy, and I was just getting started on ebay. I found your auction and thought this was great software, even then! And the price! What was it, $39? I told my wife it was way too cheap, but I was more than happy to buy it and even get a free 30 day free trial! Your software and I have become good friends, and I've done quite well with ebay and AA.

I don't mind spending $15 a month to rend software. But I'm taking this personally, because my relationship to AA and ebay has been a very personal one, not just business. What you're hearing from the others is their feelings of personally being hurt by someone they grew to know on a first-person basis and thought they could trust (like a handshake used to be). We would not feel this strongly over this rental issue if it were not for feeling like we had found an honest person, much like ourselves, who was trying to help others and make a little profit. We identified with you in many ways, and probably you identified with us, too.

I began feeling uncomfortable with your association with ebay when they announced that they were helping you with the technical aspects of making sure the software worked with all their new options, and I again felt uncomfortable with the high cost of the new Pro - I never bought it. It was with some relief that I noticed you charged new customers a higher price for Classic and Pro, but loyal guys like me got the upgrades for free. But it felt like this day was only a matter of time, given how ebay has made continuous changes to its fee structure and worked hard at keeping money rolling in.

Others have said it better than I can; when big business takes over a small company like BlackthorneSW, many things are likely to change. This is probably only 1 of many changes that I see happening. And that gets me to the point of this letter - if I were ebay, I'd make sure that all versions of AA EXCEPT for the rental versions would effectively stop working about a year from now, forcing people like me to switch to the new rental version. Can you guarantee that this will not happen? I can live without the additional features because most like Buy It Now can easily be done manually. But if access will be denied, then it's rent or move on. Please say it isn't so.

Miles

By rick on Wednesday, February 07, 2001 - 02:49 pm:

I do not have a problem
a free years subscription is fine, and long enough to judge if the rental fee is worth it,

the cost is miniscule,
and no I do not work for ebay.
just a happy customer who has made fortunes with aa pro and ebay,

By JR Linden on Wednesday, February 07, 2001 - 04:00 pm:

I wonder what the justice dept would do if software companys started to "turn off" software, just to get the legal owner to buy new software?

By mary warren (firemissy) on Wednesday, February 07, 2001 - 06:57 pm:

Am I to understand we get a year free and WITH no upgrades? Even though we paid for the software and beta tested??
Mary

By Laurie Primavera (laurie) on Wednesday, February 07, 2001 - 07:24 pm:

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