What if they have a term in the purchase stating the user will be entitled to all the upcoming features as well with no extra cost?
Re:Pay $1.9/month or $24/lifetime?
by josephcsible on Friday April 28, 2023 @10:42AM
(#35741841)
Didn't ManyCam <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35538192>, Filmora <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34199153> <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34177057>, and mIRC <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33864660> all have similar terms in the purchase, but then renege on it anyway?
Lawyers can always find a way out of it.
It's not a technical problem and it's not a contractual problem. It's a trust problem. Your business hasn't established a level of trust with your customers for them to believe you.
Until you have that trust, don't offer a "lifetime" anything.
I think that would be true for more expensive things or for B2E sales. At $24, I really don't care. If I get a year out of that it would be the same as paying the monthly fee. Of course others may feel differently.
Back when they used to charge a few dollars to download the app I bought the Ultimate Guitar App (https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/)
Honestly been pleasantly surprised now that they've had a subscription model for years and have honored my app purchase from probably over ten years ago
1. These offers are not for your lifetime, but for the lifetime of the company, which may not be that long.
2. If the company does live a long time and becomes successful, it often reneges on these lifetime offers.