🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Jan12.055423.2422@cbnewsc.cb.att.com> kimes@cbnewsc.cb.att.com (Kit Kimes@AT&T/NCR) writes:
>From article <shephard.726795428@sfu.ca>, by (Gordon Shephard):
>> kko@fraser.sfu.ca (Samuel Ko) writes:
>>>
>>>That means the minimum registration fee is US $40 ... Is that too much? ...
>>>given that, with 40 (or fewer) bucks, one can get a copy of Quicken 6.0 - the
>>>best personal finance software ... My point is a shareware author should
>>>charge a considerably lower registration fee than the price of any similar
>>>product in the commerical market ...
>> 
>> Then again, I have the option of trying out BAM before purchasing it. 
>> I don't have the same luxury with quicken.
>
>By that logic, a $35,000 Cadillac is a better buy than a $15,000 Chevy
>if you get to test drive the Cadillac but not the Chevy.
>
>Truth is, Quicken is a well know and reviewed product and I think a person
>could probably determine if it would meet their needs without actually
>trying it out.  That isn't true with BAM (or most shareware, for that matter).

There are other considerations. For instance, with a shareware package
you get low cost upgrades (not mentioned in the manual, but upgrades
are only $10), your input gets *noticed*, shareware authors are more
receptive to comments or complaints.

As for not being as well reviewed, well of course not since the
commercial packages advertise in magazines, and therefore get far more
exposure. If you consider that BAM has been available since 1987, you
would think that it would have gotten more exposure, but since
there are commercial packages out there, people don't tend to bother
with shareware.

Finally, BAM is not like Quicken. It doesn't print checks, nor does it
give you some budget forecasting. Why not? Because *I* truly believe
there are people out there who need a *simple* bank program just to
keep track of several accounts. Should they pay more for this "simple"
program? Well, in general shareware costs more to produce and market.

Our registered users have given us a lot of constructive feedback, and
all are still using the program. (Which is amazing considering some
registered back in 1987!) When asked if they would, today, pay $35 for
the program, they all said yes. As we get more registrations, the
price lowers...



					...Manu

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