AppSumo.com not honoring lifetime deal and deleting reactions in Facebook group

As bad a taste as it might leave, I'm not sure there's a leg to stand on here. You can still use the product you bought in the form you bought it (as I understand it), under the license you bought it, and you'll still get access to "lifetime updates" included. Granted, there might not be any futures updates to be eligible for as part of that, but unless you had an SLA on a roadmap, seems likely there's no real recourse here?

Business-wise, having a sale on something you're going to deprioritise/eventually sunset passes my smell-check, though there's a slight whiff with the leading point around "lifetime" (given that the lifetime seems to be, ahem, pretty short...).

Sounds like feigned outrage to me; you're conflating a software product (WP plugin in this case) w/ an ongoing SaaS product -- I don't see how you could expect one to honoured by the other.

Are you still able to use the Plugin? Or are your forced to use the SaaS product?

> so you can continue using the Wordpress version... and we're going to keep support it

Yep, you still have your WP Plugin w/ "Lifetime Support", don't see a problem, sorry.

The SaaS is not ongoing, it was released 2 days ago. And in November they sold us the only existing version, the wordpress version knowing they will soon release the better SaaS version.

This what their FAQ on website originally said about the Wordpress use: (they changed it recently)

"However keep in mind we're focusing the most resources on our new version going forward."

Tbh I can't see what is so wrong about this.

> https://kingsumo.com/pricing

It looks like they are offering an going SaaS version that they host for you, and a self-hosted WP version that you can install yourself for a fixed one-time price.

> ... the $49 or $149 licenses to apply to $8/mo new version?

The prices for self-hosted now look a lot more than those (early-bird/introductory?) prices you guys paid.

Sorry if you feel wronged, but I think you need to understand that this is a pretty common pricing structure, i.e self vs hosted pricing.

The pricing page you're looking at now was changed today or so. You would be totally right, if we knew about this before today.

To clarify... AppSumo sold people a WordPress plugin for $49 for one site or $149 for unlimited WordPress sites on Black Friday which offers unlimited giveaways and mailing list integration. AppSumo still offers the standalone WordPress plugin but has also launched a SaaS app that integrates with WordPress as well as other systems. This SaaS app is offered for $0/mo for unlimited giveaways and mailing list integration. They also offer a pro version for $8/mo which adds in the ability to custom brand your offers. This ability to custom brand was not a part of the product you purchased on Black Friday. The publisher is giving one year of access ($96) to this new pro offering to people who had purchased the WordPress plugin.

I'm unclear what the issue is. If you'd like to use the current plugin on WordPress because you like the integration, you can do so. If you'd like to use the new SaaS product on WordPress or any other site, you can do so for free. If you'd like to custom brand, a new offering from this publisher, you get a year of it for free and you can pay to do so after that. Were you expecting the publisher to give you their new offering with a new feature you weren't promised and didn't pay for for free forever?

yes,

same as with every other deal on AppSumo ... I wasn't promised Zapier integration from Mailshake, but have it ... I wasn't promised image templates from Missinglettr, but have them .... etc. this is how AppSumo deals just are ... because they promise lifetime licence

When you go to McDonalds anywhere in the world, you expect a similar cheeseburger because of the brand/platform ... when you get used to the same cheeseburgers and then suddenly you get something awful ... you would be surprised too .. and outraged at McDonalds

Did you even look at the facebook thread in the link? There are now dozens of other disappointed people, you can't have that unless you set a wrong expectation. There are countless other AppSumo lifetime deals that don't have any problems like this, because they do upgrade us on features as expected. If you can't deliver on it, then don't sell it right?

No offense, but you are a great example for the rule that giving people privileges for free is a bad idea because they will take them for granted and be upset when you no longer give them those privileges for free.

If you go to a take-away and always get extra napkins for free, you feel entitled to those extra napkins for free, so when they no longer do that you feel like you've been wronged although the extra napkins were never part of what you paid for.

AppSumo didn't take anything from you. They just didn't go above and beyond their duty this time for whatever reason and now you feel like you've been cheated because you justified the expense for yourself based on the expectation that they'd do it again.

"AppSumo didn't take anything from you. They just didn't go above and beyond their duty this time for whatever reason and now you feel like you've been cheated because you justified the expense for yourself based on the expectation that they'd do it again."

well yes, although not super precise ... the "above and beyond" tends to be specified as free updates for life ... it's just that it's not exactly specified as what that means, since nobody is a fortune teller and the product owners don't even know themselves what feature they will add three years later ... but I guarantee you, that the moment when all appsumo deals stop promising future updates ... half of the people will stop buying ... this is not a stolen napkin, not something extra ... this is an important feature of the appsumo deals ... we buy those deals ... and many (if not most) of us don't even use the products much, knowing we can use them 3 years later when we need them and they will be up to date ... in the fb thread, none of us have even used KingSumo yet .. it would be pointless to stack up on apps that won't work as best as they can later

> in the fb thread, none of us have even used KingSumo yet

So you're complaining about something you bought that you don't even have any intention of using right now?

> knowing we can use them 3 years later when we need them and they will be up to date

Nothing on that site says it won't be maintained for 3 years, just that it likely won't get any new features (unless they port them over from the new SaaS).

> it would be pointless to stack up on apps

So you've been bargain hunting, hoping to snipe great plugins for cheap early on so you won't have to pay the full price when you need them later (or when they get features that make them actually useful to you). Sounds like we've at least found the reason why AppSumo doesn't consider the "pay once" model sustainable anymore and is moving to a SaaS model instead.

It costs money to develop these plugins. You paid a fraction of the regular price. You got more than your money's worth already. You just didn't luck out and pay for something that'll turn out to be incredibly useful to you later on.

IMHO, there are issues on both sides.

Using words like "lifetime deals" entice customers but also sets expectations which might be hard to maintain. Especially when when companies they oversold their promises and the generated fees might not be enough to hire devs and keep the product running. Personally, I think lifetime should at least include 5 years of service, irrespective of version changes.

From the looks of it, the lifetime plugin sold very well and Appsumo realized later that web app and subscription model are a much better fit. So, I doubt they knew 3 months ago that they might end up doing this.

On the flip side, companies do grandfather existing customers to newer and potentially expensive plans. So, if the webapp is better and faster then I think asking people for more money isn't wrong. If the wordpress plugin continues to work and is updated then it is an expected solution.

This seems like a branding vs product issue.

Kingsumo is the brand and the products are 1) a SaaS, 2) a wordpress plugin.

From their FAQ (https://kingsumo.com/faq)

> I use the WordPress version. Why isn’t my login working for the web app?

> If you already have the WordPress plugin, you’ll need to register again. This new web app version is different than the WordPress plugin version. We’ll continue to support both, but since they’re two separate products you can register for each.

You got what you saw: unlimited use of the WordPress plugin. I don't even see mentions of any guarantees about updates -- but as long as they maintain the plugin for say 3-5 years or so I think the "lifetime" claim is perfectly valid.

The SaaS app is an entirely different product, as evidenced by the fact you're saying it even looks different. It also has a different business model.

If you buy a finished product you don't normally expect new features to be added if it's not on a subscription model. If it's explicitly "early access" or "beta" software you might reasonably expect it to be polished and maybe get whatever features it is currently missing (if they have been advertised or are obviously necessary for it to fulfill its advertised purpose) but a finished product is a finished product.

My understanding of a plugin being sold with a "lifetime license" would be that I get any updates to that plugin for free but that that won't include new "major" versions. Similar to how if I paid for MS Office 1997 I wouldn't expect that to mean I also get a free "upgrade" to MS Office 2000.

If you saw enough value in the plugin to justify the purchase and keep it past the 60 day no-questions-asked money back guarantee, there's frankly no reason to be upset unless they stop providing security updates or no longer maintain the plugin for compatibility with newer WP versions.

Would you be equally upset if they never released the SaaS version but still stopped adding features to the plugin (while still offering security and compatibility updates)? If not, what difference does it make they now also offer a SaaS product?

You bought a software product and an implicit guarantee of keeping that software product in a working condition. You didn't buy a team of developers continuously working on improving that product and adding new features.

Interestingly enough:

https://appsumo.com/kingsumo1-black-friday-2016-offer/ - the 2016 sale says "free updates for life"

https://appsumo.com/black-friday-kingsumo-personal-2017/ - the 2017 black friday sale suddenly does not have that (seem like here they already knew they will sell SaaS soon, but this is rare on appsumo to not promise updates for life, most probably overlooked this)

All AppSumo lifetime deals include all future upgrades (unless they clearly specify its 1 year licence or so), this is the general expectation, and that's the point of it.

Many deals are kinda broken and unusable at the point of their sale, but people will buy they in hope they will become great in future. Yes its kinda like beta versions.

This is happening time and time again ... many AppSumo deals changed dramatically and the lifetime deals are still honored, some even change their pricing models completely, but in some shape or form, the lifetime deals are still honored. It's basically early funding and exposure (more importantly).

When I bought Mailshake it was pretty basic, but damn, they still keep adding features. They could have done the same and say, hey, if you want the new Zapier integration, you gotta pay for it, but they dont do that, because they set certain exepcation with lifetime licence.

The point is that this didn't go as expected.

What was the lifetime license for? Updates? If so, are they still updating the plugin? If it's still being updated, and they didn't just abandon it altogether a few months after you bought a lifetime subscription, it seems to me that you got what you expected and what they told you you were getting.

Its the first picture "Unlimited giveaways / No subscription fees"

In their FAQ they said this: "keep in mind we're focusing the most resources on our new version going forward." but changed it since and claim they will update it ... but look as those products separately ... they are like night and day ... the wordpress version has outdated design and only the new version looks good

You bought the "outdated design" three months ago so presumably it was good enough then. I don't see why you think you're owed a flashy new design unless they explicitly teased the new design back then without revealing it was for the SaaS app.

I do not see a problem. The plugin still works. I do not fault them for deleting your posts as they are factually incorrect and only spread your invalid interpretation of the situation.

Depending - you might be able to take them to small claims court. Given the small value, they likely wont fight it.

You'd have to come with the terms of service though.

Given the value, it'll be a huge headache for them to fight it. They'll likely just convert you all over. If not, they'll have to pay damages, which would be awful for them (if there's a few thousand people).

if ($haz_sumo ~* "/sumo-plugin/") {set $happy "1";}

if ($sumo_makes_more_than_it_costs ~* "/making-$$$/") {set $happy "${happy}1";}

if ($happy = "11") {set $no_problem "true";}

You are screwed!