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Comment by leorocky | Hacker News Reader

These may be reasons why you cannot sell lower than $99 but they are not reasons why someone should pay so much. The stated plan to keep updating the app reveals a fear that they are not creating enough value despite the cost to develop. The plan to update is also a shitty thing to say as this is no guarantee and light on specifics about what the updates will feature. $100 for an opaque primise that more is to come is a shit sandwhich usually served with a nice heap of disappointment. xscope 4's price of $50 is another one of these niche narrow doodads that while clearly provide value do so at questionable prices and the user has no idea when they will have to pay for a new version. Apple's lack of an upgrade price sucks but that's not the users fault but they are the ones that get the shit end of the deal with limited time price reductions that you have to know about.

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I get what you're saying, and even kind of agree with you, but I think you're slowly disappearing for delivery. The blog post is the rationale behind why they chose to charge what they did - all of which is fine, and totally their prerogative. What they didn't do, and what i think you're trying to say, is that they failed to convince me on why it's worth it to me to spend the money. I've not heard of their app before, so maybe I'm not the target market, but I don't need to spend $100 to see an HTTP load visualizer on my iPhone. But even if I did, I don't know why I'd pay for this one over any other ones, if there are any.

I have no objections to the price, it may be well worth it if I did iOS development, but this feels like a big marketing fail.

#7 is a great topic to explore in its own blog post. Unfortunately, its power is undermined by obviousness of certain other points.

#5 and #6, combined, would make a great FAQ item (which would also increase the awareness among customers), and perhaps a blog post, too.

#1-#4 are the worst—they seem applicable to just about any product, including the infamous I Am Rich app.

This post, listing every justification of app's pricing, makes me wonder if the developers themselves doubt their decision.

They most definitely have the right reasons for why someone should pay what they're asking. The reason #1, "we need to make a profit", is the biggest reason for the price. In reason #4 they clarify that reason by having tested that out of $10, $20 and $100 prices they made the biggest profit with the highest price.

The flimflam about updating the app just means that they don't wish to fire everyone now that they have a selling app, but instead will keep developing it with the hopes that it would sell even better.

> right reasons

Maybe the right reasons for stakeholders.

Not the right reasons for customers.

The right customers -- professional developers -- would want the tool to stick around for a while, but of course there is a free-loader problem.

Paying $100 a year, let alone $100 once off, for something that improves productivity ought to be below the level of even caring to do the cost-benefit analysis.

If your employer won't let you spend $100 on a productivity tool, he's very foolish. (NB: Most employers are foolish. I've always got hemming and hawing about spending that money; can't we just do without?)

They're still reasons that the business should sell the app at that price, not reasons a consumer should buy it at that price.

If using this app saves you an hour or two it was already worth its money even if you never receive an update.

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