Apple Upgrade Policy

[Webpick]

Apple's charge to upgrade Final Cut Express is HORRIBLE. They are charging $99 to upgrade even if it was purchased just weeks ago. I talked with Apple and they told me the only upgrade path, regardless of when Final Cut Express was purchased, is to pay another $99.

Apple knew when the upgrade was only weeks away. They could have announced the upgrade was imminent or waived the upgrade fee for recent buyers. Instead, they sold a product for FULL PRICE that they knew would be OBSOLETE within a few weeks, and they kept this SECRET.

In this case, APPLE was DISHONEST with it's customers.

 

[krimson]

maybe im short on experience with this, but what software manufacturer does what you wished Apple did?

As for being obsolete.. well, that's a bit of an over-reaction dont you think?

 

[crazzyeddie]

And why would you buy FCE2 just a few weeks ago when the rumors clearly stated that it would definitely be released? It was due for an upgrade anyway, and i can remember rumors saying that it would be released even 6 weeks ago...

 

[jxyama]

Re: Apple Upgrade Policy

Originally posted by Webpick
Apple's charge to upgrade Final Cut Express is HORRIBLE. They are charging $99 to upgrade even if it was purchased just weeks ago. I talked with Apple and they told me the only upgrade path, regardless of when Final Cut Express was purchased, is to pay another $99.

Apple knew when the upgrade was only weeks away. They could have announced the upgrade was imminent or waived the upgrade fee for recent buyers. Instead, they sold a product for FULL PRICE that they knew would be OBSOLETE within a few weeks, and they kept this SECRET.

In this case, APPLE was DISHONEST with it's customers.

i'm sorry but this is a pointless rant. apple releases their products on their own schedule. of course they will keep it a secret - they have no obligation to release such information to the public.

your FCE is not obsolete. if you decide you need upgrades, that's your concern, not apple's.

weeks, days, months. wherever apple draws the line, there will be people complaining. "if you purchased in the last N days, you get a free upgrade." how about those purchased N+1 days ago? on and on... it's neither DISHONEST nor some crazy conspiracy SECRET stuff...

 

[LethalWolfe]

Re: Apple Upgrade Policy

Originally posted by Webpick
Apple's charge to upgrade Final Cut Express is HORRIBLE. They are charging $99 to upgrade even if it was purchased just weeks ago. I talked with Apple and they told me the only upgrade path, regardless of when Final Cut Express was purchased, is to pay another $99.

Apple knew when the upgrade was only weeks away. They could have announced the upgrade was imminent or waived the upgrade fee for recent buyers. Instead, they sold a product for FULL PRICE that they knew would be OBSOLETE within a few weeks, and they kept this SECRET.

In this case, APPLE was DISHONEST with it's customers.

Dishonest how? Obsolete? What? Did your copy of FCE suddenly stop working or something? The fact that a new version came out does not mean your current version is broken. Anyway, no matter what policy Apple set people would still be pissed. If Apple said, "anyone who purchased FCE in the past 4 wks can get FCE 2 for $19.99" then the people who bought it 5 or 6 weeks ago would complain because they missed the "magic window" by just 1 or 2 weeks. Technology changes. New versions of software and hardware come out. It's nothing new. And everyone, at least once, has ended up w/the short end of the update stick. At least you didn't buy a 1.8ghz G5 right before they replaced them with the dual 1.8ghz machines.

Consider it a lesson learned. Before buying hardware or software research it and see if it's probably due for an upgrade.


Lethal

 

[Grimace]

They aren't dishonest!! That's business. And how in the world is your "old" product obsolete??

Would you say 1 day in advance - don't buy this product - it will be updated on 01/06??

You could just as easily say a week before not to upgrade. Or a month.

Why do people always pounce on Apple for UPGRADING??!??! No other company gets in so much trouble for putting out better products.

 

[Sun Baked]

Re: Apple Upgrade Policy

Originally posted by Webpick
Apple's charge to upgrade Final Cut Express is HORRIBLE. They are charging $99 to upgrade even if it was purchased just weeks ago. I talked with Apple and they told me the only upgrade path, regardless of when Final Cut Express was purchased, is to pay another $99.

Apple knew when the upgrade was only weeks away. They could have announced the upgrade was imminent or waived the upgrade fee for recent buyers. Instead, they sold a product for FULL PRICE that they knew would be OBSOLETE within a few weeks, and they kept this SECRET.

In this case, APPLE was DISHONEST with it's customers.

Apple gets in much more trouble all the time for their pre-announcements than their immediate availability announcements.

Because of the nature of business, anything NOT in the final production chain (golden master) tends to slide due to anything.

Now there are companies that do offer reduced price upgrades to people making a non-upgrade retail purchase for their premium software.

But the hassle you're talking about for consumer level software becomes a pain, imagine the expense for doing this for a $49 PC games -- or iLife.

 

[Webpick]

I purchased Reunion made by Leister Productions. A month later they published version 8. The upgrade was free.

Websters 10th edition Collegiate dictionary says: Obsolete - of a kind or style no longer current.

Rumor said that Apple was releasing a G5 laptop and Macworld.

Dishonest in the sense that Apple witheld information that they knew would effect customers buying FCE ver 1.

Because 'someone will still be upset' does not excuse anything.

I don't suggest that FCE version 1 is useless. In fact I recommend it. My complaint is not with the software but with Apple's upgrade policy.

 

[Horrortaxi]

I agree 100%. I bought a car in 2000 and a few weeks later they released the 2001 models. They knew all along they had new cars on the way and they didn't tell me. Naturally the day they released the 2001s my 2000 stopped working completely, requiring me to upgrade for $7000. Why does this always happen to me?

 

[Counterfit]

Originally posted by Webpick
Dishonest in the sense that Apple witheld information that they knew would effect customers buying FCE ver 1.

Yeah, and they're not telling me when they're going to upgrade to OS 13.6

 

[Webpick]

At MacWorld Expo, where Apple announced FCE 2, Microsoft announced that anyone who buys MS Office will receive a free upgrade to the new version when it ships early next year.

IMHO Apple builds better stuff than Microsoft. But in this recent instance, MS is treating it's customers much better.

 

[Hackcomic.com]

I believe you have 30 days to get money back if a product goes on sale. Has the price of the version of Final Cut you bought gone down? If it has you can get that money back and apply it towards the upgrade.

 

[Webpick]

That's just what I expected. I did not ask Apple about returning the software because the package was opened and the software already installed.

I thought it was an error when they said the only upgrade path, regardless of purchase date, was to pay $99. So I called Apple a second time, and received the same answer.

 

[jxyama]

your use of the word "withhold" seem to imply that apple was under some sort of an obligation (moral/legal or otherwise) to disclose that info. apple wasn't. apple decided that MWSF was the place to disclose that info. if you research enough to follow rumors here, i think it would serve you best the next time to "withhold" your purchase on anything until MWSF is over from now on, regardless of the rumors. being mad because "you bought a FCE because there was no rumor on it" is a pretty weak reason.

no matter when they disclosed it, someone would have been affected. no matter who they decide to offer upgrades to, someone would have been affected. so they had to do what they had to do.

you can be mad all you want, but i don't think apple did anything wrong.

if you demanded that similar insider information be made public before a planned official public disclosure in the stock market, you'd get arrested - that's called insider trading. though this is nowhere as serious, you are asking for information that just wasn't meant to be released to the public. it doesn't have much to do with ethics.

 

[Webpick]

Waiting for thte next 'Expo' is good advice. I'll do that next time.

Your comment:
"being mad because "you bought a FCE because there was no rumor on it" is a pretty weak reason."
is not correct. I didn't buy FCE because there was no rumor. I bought FCE because I expected Apple to behave the way MS behaved with its upcoming product release of Office. The rumors are simply not reliable enough to be an influence, for me (the G5 laptop rumor is an example).

I can't argue your point about rumors though; there is probably real value to them. My point is that Apple's policies are what make the rumors valuable. MS' policies make similar rumors unecessary. Which is better for them and for their customers.

It does pain me to to compare MS and Apple in this instance. I am not a fan of MS' other policies (global IS domination for instance). But IMHO. Apple's customer care problem is growing (the faulty iBook class action suit for example) and this policy only adds to that problem.

Thanks for the good advice.

 

[Flavius]

Originally posted by Webpick
I bought FCE because I expected Apple to behave the way MS behaved with its upcoming product release of Office.

you bought a product based on your assumption of a market you know nothing about.

go troll somewhere else

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Originally posted by krimson
maybe im short on experience with this, but what software manufacturer does what you wished Apple did?

Adobe I believe has a 60 to 90 day window. Microsoft had a 30 to 60 day window; that appears to have changed to the Apple iLife model (date of announcement)

Originally posted by krimson
As for being obsolete.. well, that's a bit of an over-reaction dont you think? [/B]

I haven't seen what is different bewteen the two FC editions. Buty as with iLife 04, there probably are major enhancements that increase use and pleasure from the program.

Then there are those of us that became switchers becuase of the holidays. It would be nice to have a friendlier policy. Since MW is the first week in January, it would be nice to at least go back to Thanksgiving Friday for a free or substantially reduced upgrade. I for one would love to get iLife 04 for $20 for my Xmas PB.

I guess I learned what many already know here, not to buy anything from Apple till after MW.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Originally posted by Horrortaxi
I agree 100%. I bought a car in 2000 and a few weeks later they released the 2001 models. They knew all along they had new cars on the way and they didn't tell me. Naturally the day they released the 2001s my 2000 stopped working completely, requiring me to upgrade for $7000. Why does this always happen to me?

Cute, but not really the same point with Apple's new policies towards software upgrades (FCE and iLife). I guess Apple has seen the profit from those that will buy each new OSX upgrade; and wants to bring that model to the rest of the software.

The point I keep raising is the timing in which Apple does their announcements. Right after the holiday buying spree. With hardware it would harder to justify returns and rebates. Software is a different matter in my mind.

There is a matter of good will. And having a 30 to 60 day period prior to the announce for free and vastly reduced upgrades goes towards that. It would alos help in the bottomline since people will not hold on their puchases. Not like I will now, knowing how the game is played.