Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

Re:Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018? by mherrmann on Friday November 16, 2018 @12:51AM (#18466733)

I've been developing a cross-platform file manager [1] for the past 2.5 years. It is shareware with a nag screen. It currently makes ~$500 per month. Generally, I would say yes, shareware still works. But it is hard a) to write desktop software [2] and b) to convince people to pay for it. I would not give people the sources. It would make them feel even more like "I don't need to pay for this". What works for me is to be very transparent and tell people [3] "I'm one guy working on this, and am making $500 per month. This is not sustainable. If you like the project and want it to continue, buy a license".

Feel free to hit me up on twitter @m_herrmann if you have further questions. :-)

1: https://fman.io

2: https://blog.qt.io/blog/2018/11/15/python-qt-3000-hours-deve...

3: https://fman.io/buy

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Re:Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018? by charlesdm on Friday November 16, 2018 @07:18AM (#18468222)

I don't want to be overly negative, but I have launched quite a few indie 6 figure apps over the last five years, and something generating $500 a month isn't really working (in my book).

Have you even tried to just sell licenses for it? If your software delivers value then that should convert better than a nag screen. Worth giving users a 30 day trial and seeing how that converts.

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Re:Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018? by fyfy18 on Friday November 16, 2018 @08:23AM (#18468529)

Would be interested to know more about this. I see you posted an article last year, but it's since been deleted.

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Re:Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018? by charlesdm on Friday November 16, 2018 @09:28AM (#18468928)

As in, interested in how I did it? I've been considering putting something together in the not so distant future -- throw me an e-mail with your contact details and I'll add you to the (currently very small) mailing list.

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Re:Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018? by dotdi on Friday November 16, 2018 @04:46AM (#18467669)

The layout of your top-bar somewhat breaks[0] if I zoom in beyond 130%

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[0]: https://imgur.com/a/f9CATyj

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Re:Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018? by mherrmann on Friday November 16, 2018 @06:45AM (#18468083)

Thanks for letting me know :-)

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Re:Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018? by tonyedgecombe on Friday November 16, 2018 @06:21AM (#18467999)

This is not sustainable. If you like the project and want it to continue, buy a license

Do you just nag or actually disable the product after a period? I was always surprised by the Sublime model, my experience indicates that if people can avoid paying then they will, even business customers.

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Re:Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018? by mherrmann on Friday November 16, 2018 @06:45AM (#18468081)

I just nag. I want the larger user base so people develop plugins [1].

1: https://fman.io/docs/plugins

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Re:Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018? by imhoguy on Friday November 16, 2018 @07:40AM (#18468313)

I like your open source promise. So I guess you have some private GH repo which needs switch to public to fullful the promise, right? I just wonder how you implemented the family eventual part.

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