In the announcement of black Friday, there’s this:
As we go into the week of American Thanksgiving & Native American Heritage Day, Xojo is thankful for its dedicated team . They go above and beyond in developing and supporting our product and users. With that in mind, this year will be our last time participating in Black Friday. We want our team and everyone who celebrates this time to spend it with friends and family.
I’m reading it right as there won’t be a discount next year (and the price will stay “higher” all the year long)?
“With that in mind”… The fact we’re going into this week means black Friday is superfluous? How so?
From what I understand: the discount will be in a different week so the staff can be with family without worry about the special sale. They can do it any other work week.
There may be other promotions throughout the year, but as a courtesy we wanted to give you notice that we won’t be doing another one during this holiday. That way if you wanted to take advantage of another offer you can. I’ll be around all week (even while traveling) if there are any more questions about the sale
Thanks for your answers.
Good to know there could be other promotions.
But, the other promotions would fall at different times each year, if I get it right. Currently, I renew my licence on black Fridays. If different times are to be used among the years, I’ll less likely renew each year (remember, I’m a hobbyist, not paid for my apps).
Not sure I’m excited by this change…
If your license expired November 30, 2021 (as an example) and you renew in an August sale (again, just an example), it would extend the expiration date one year from the current expiration date, not from the date the order is placed. So, the license would then expire November 30, 2022.
Stay subscribed to our emails, check the blog/social media, we will definitely make it known in the future if and when there are other promotions.
This is going to sound unusual, but it’s meant to be positive. I don’t believe Geoff when he says “it’s the last Black Friday sale” to allow the employees to enjoy their holiday(s). Because with software you don’t NEED to have anyone around, just automate everything and people get their sale and the support staff get their holiday. I know the spike in sales “requires” more support, but it’s not harmful at all to request a wait. Besides, most people buy on sale just to get it, none of it is for urgent needs.
I think Geoff is doing it for another reason: financial. I know this because I encounter it. The problem with selling software “on sale” - ESPECIALLY at a particular time - is that it devalues your software. I even got my Xojo renewal at this time for that explicit reason. Think about it - software really doesn’t NEED to be “on sale”. The reason it does, and I say this because I’m guilty too, is that we companies get addicted to that BIG SPIKE in sales. The problem is that it’s at the cost of saying “our software isn’t really worth what we ask for it at all the other times”. I think Geoff is trying to buck that trend. I did that a couple years ago, and I’m really happy I did so. If people really need or want your software, they’ll eventually get it. Just make sure your price is fair enough to draw people in BUT ALSO pay your bills. That’s your responsibility.
I’m proud of Geoff for announcing this, even though as a customer it costs me more. PRINCIPLE: It’s up to the company to profit enough to exist tomorrow.
Oh but sales do accelerate considerably traffic. I saw that when I participated in the OmegaBundle. It is a well known marketing ploy: some people who never get around buying get swayed by an extra discount.
I would be surprised if Xojo never again did sales.
I did suspect that the predictability was the real issue… though lots of software companies do Black Friday sales every year… I get bombarded with Emails from companies like Affinity and Telestream for their Black Friday sales for example.
As for not needing a sale, that would depend on who and why they are buying it. Hobbyists and “citizen developers” are a LOT more price sensitive than pros…
A sale can get someone to buy “just in case” they might need it… whereas at full price such people will say since I can develop anyway (or the version I have is good enough for now) I’m not buying until I’m absolutely sure i need to. For the most part we don’t HAVE to have it or have the most current version.
Also sales help with new users making an initial decision on buying the product… For most Pros $300 (or $700) is not THAT significant, but for many (if not most) non-pros who don’t make money with Xojo, price is a significant consideration…
When renewals were 50% less than full price, that alone was a strong enough reason to renew without a sale “just in case”… now it’s not. I know it was a no brainer for me back then and now I debate if I should renew.
For something like Xojo where a significant portion of the user base does not make money with the product (like me), or really need it, sales matter to many.
Sale psychology is the same for software as for most purchases.
If you absolute need something and need it NOW, you buy then sale or not (assuming you have the money), if not you want a good bargain and are a lot less likely to buy without one.
I don’t know the number of people that wants to pay with PayPal (for example). Some people may have a credit card that gives 5% cash back if used with PayPal, others can have PayPal balance from other promotions.
PayPal payment is not automatic, from Xojo’s buy page:
Contact us to pay with Paypal or bank transfer. All prices in US dollars. Xojo, Inc. does not collect VAT on any sales.
I guess there could be other reasons why people need to contact Xojo @ hello during this week.
Quite a lot of effort goes in to managing and supporting sales that you may not be aware of, and much of it cannot be automated. We have to spread the word about the sale and we have a massive increase in pre-sales questions and other customer service inquiries that need to be handled in a timely manner. I have been working off and on since 6am today, for example, kids are off school and Xojo itself is closed this week. Those of us who have to work through the holiday and the holiday weekend appreciate that Xojo and other retailers are looking to scale back this Black Friday madness!
We use BlackFriday offer to welcome back a lot of old customers.
If you had your MBS licenses expire for a few years or need to add something like SQL, Charts or PDF, then the discount is a way to kindly ask you to order now.
I will admit I’m one of those who tends to wait for the sales. It usually means the difference between getting Pro (which I just renewed) or just desktop or waiting. I’m not super frugal but it helps me buy golf balls or feed the kids
