msarca

You've read me like a book! When you grow up, you should become a detective. Or a business consultant, as you are equally good at figuring out why people buy stuff.

Yeah, it's called "listening to feedback", so don't get into conspiracies with what I have tried :))

Thanks! It's not a secret: we believe this model offers more value to the customer and better fits our vision. We tried subscriptions and had moderate success, but we never felt we were connecting with our users. There is no reason for users to pay us $10, as we offer a 7-day free trial, which is more than enough to animate one SVG. Also, we reset the trial every time we introduce a more important new feature so people can try and assess the software again for free. In the last 3 months we had two trial resets.

Great, thanks for the feedback! We'll revise the wording if it generates so much confusion. Drop me a line at [email protected] after you try it and let me know how it went.

Thank you for sharing your opinion. The primary reason people buy Expressive Animator is its high quality. The perpetual license is just a bonus. It's sad to hear words like "deceptive" from a fellow entrepreneur, but don't worry, I've grown a thick skin over the last years.

The product's value is not given by its pricing model, and the future is bright.

Thanks! We primarily focus on SVG animations, while Rive has its proprietary format and player. SVG animations run natively in the browser and don't require a player. By having their own format and player, they are not limited by standards and can, naturally, provide more features. Of course, this comes with disadvantages too, as users get vendor-locked. Also, they have a subscription-based model, while we offer perpetual licenses for a one-off payment.

What is confusing? Since the launch, we have released 10 updates, and we'll continue to release new updates until v1 reaches its EOL. Then, the updates will stop, but you will still be able to use the software. It seems pretty straightforward to me.

No, not yet, but I'm confident our customers will not be confused. We'll see.

Yes, it does

TBH, I'm a bit surprised by this interpretation, as we don't have this problem with customers. Maybe it's an HN thing. I think we were only asked once or twice about how updates work. I'll take a look at CleanShot though. Thanks!

Nope, I like that link!

It is not, because you do get a lifetime license. Of course you don't get free "lifetime updates", but you can keep using the version you have paid for as long as you want.