MacUpdate Software Bundle Sale [Update]

[Donnacha]

Interesting to note that MU are censoring critical posts within their own discussion thread, and quickly too - my post relating to this problem was deleted within less that a minute!

They must be fire-fighting quite a lot of dissent but, of course, we'll never know.

 

[arn]

Not going well; with 5 days to go, they should be hitting Intaglio by now - this promotion is dead in the water and all because they tried to get too fancy.

Of historical interest, the MacHeist sales spiked right after something was unlocked. So presumably there's a number of people who don't want to buy until something is unlocked. So, there may be a spike when Little Snitch gets unlocked.

arn

 

[Donnacha]

Yeah, it's interesting to watch.

My memory is that MacHeist had much more momentum and although, clearly, the unlocking of Snitch will dislodge a wave of sales, the question is: will it add enough momentum to hit 4000 within the next day or two? Because they'll have to do that to have a hope in Hell of eventually hitting 10,000.

My suspicion is that, even though many potential customers might be happy with the existing apps now that Snitch is included, many will hold off until they get an invite and that will kill the sense of momentum. They really have shot themselves in the foot but, as I say, could reverse that by simply adding the membership.

 

[arn]

Yeah, it's interesting to watch.

My memory is that MacHeist had much more momentum and although, clearly, the unlocking of Snitch will dislodge a wave of sales, the question is: will it add enough momentum to hit 4000 within the next day or two? Because they'll have to do that to have a hope in Hell of eventually hitting 10,000.

The other interesting thing is that MacHeist unlocked their last app before they actually hit the goal number... and that caused a very large spike in sales. I guess people thought they were getting a better deal now. The psychology of it and all.

Now, as I said, I don't know anything about how MacUpdate is going to handle things, but if they were paying attention to the macheist model, they might do the same.

arn

 

[natallica]

The other interesting thing is that MacHeist unlocked their last app before they actually hit the goal number... and that caused a very large spike in sales. I guess people thought they were getting a better deal now. The psychology of it and all.

Now, as I said, I don't know anything about how MacUpdate is going to handle things, but if they were paying attention to the macheist model, they might do the same.

arn

It would be VERY smart for them to unlock the next level today, but we'll have to see what happens.

Thank you for making me aware of this bundle and the software in it. I know you've taken a lot of crap for it!

-- N

 

[Donnacha]

The other interesting thing is that MacHeist unlocked their last app before they actually hit the goal number... and that caused a very large spike in sales. I guess people thought they were getting a better deal now. The psychology of it and all.

Now, as I said, I don't know anything about how MacUpdate is going to handle things, but if they were paying attention to the macheist model, they might do the same.

arn

Good point; MacHeist were obviously aware of the need to keep the momentum going at all costs and must have calculated that they had no choice but to bring that unlock forward.

It doesn't seem as if MU are as good at detail although, to be fair, they did eventually respond to complaints that the wording of their offer was unclear and re-wrote it.

But, apart from that, I've seen no signs that they possess MacHeist's ability to turn on a dime (bringing forward that unlocking, for example) and, really, that's what they need here: the balls to shoot their still-born invites scheme in the head.

BTW, just for the record, I do actually have an invite myself, I'm just aware that there are a lot of people not buying because they don't.

 

[cube]

It doesn't seem as if MU are as good at detail although, to be fair, they did eventually respond to complaints that the wording of their offer was unclear and re-wrote it.

I agree, other bothersome points:
- People who bought the bundle who didn't get their macupdate free account activated (normal free, not $20 account for free)
- Still saying "get 7 applications" instead of 8 in their graphics now that LittleSnitch has been unlocked.
- Graphics that still reflect the 7-app total value, instead of the new 8-app one.

 

[iAlice]

Hi guys,

I just donated my 2 promo invites to whoever needs them at:
http://www.cedrik.fr/mupromo/
There are 18 invites available as I write this.

Personally, I'm having a great time participating in this promo, trying out the new apps, helping 2 other people with my invites, and watching for the next app to unlock.

My favorites so far are Amadeus Pro, GarageSale, Fetch, ProfCast, and Browseback (only offered through MacHeist). I'm excited about getting Intaglio in a couple of days (oh, yeah, baby, it's coming I'm sure), and I still feel we have a decent chance to get TechTool Pro, which for me would be icing on an already yummy cake.

Catching the Snitch within the last hour even tied in with my eagerness to read the last Harry Potter book in just 8 days! (Harry plays a game called Quidditch where he has to catch a small, fast ball called a snitch to win the game for his team.)

Seriously, I'm very glad to have bought into this promo, and I urge you to "go for it" if you are debating whether to jump in.

Cheers,
Alice

 

[mark476p]

The bundle sounds great, but I'm worried about fees related to a Leopard upgrade. I went to the official site of each application. I remember a few saying that there are free lifetime upgrades. Little Snitch, according to the forums, is free if it's a "minor" update.

 

[fblack]

I have had contact from Phil Ryu who wanted to clear a few things up. All the figures of $5000 etc Phil has assured me is inaccurate.

http://www.wired.com/software/coolapps/news/2006/12/72333

Where it should be noted that (From Phil and mine conversation):

"MacHeist developers were offered bonuses if sales exceeded expectations. They did, and the minimum payout was 10k"

These figures used in this thread have been taken from the article by Gruber:

http://daringfireball.net/2006/12/macheist_lousy_tshirt

http://daringfireball.net/2006/12/iniquities_of_the_selfish

Which was posted earlier in this thread. They were based on Mac Heist I... however Phil has said they are incorrect. They also no way reflect Mac Heist II in anyway. THIS promotion IS NOT Mac Heist II.

For the particualr promotion in question the bundle app terms were negotiated by MacUpdate and that was done on a revenue sharing model.

Thank you to Phil for contacting me and clearing a few things up!

These

Wow. I hope people read thru the entire thread like I did. Otherwise, their enthusiasm for this offer might have been significantly killed. I check MR regularly, along with the BBC and a few other feeds. I probably wouldn't have known of this offer if it hadn't been posted here.

 

[Val-kyrie]

MH Bundle

I have not had a response back either, and it has been 20 hours.

PS--I bought the bundle because even if I cannot use the software, a friend of mine will find it useful as he is new to the Mac.

I received my bundle yesterday and thanks to iAlice found out about the invite manager for the bundle at http://www.cedrik.fr/mupromo/. I donated both of them, too.

The only problem is that I guess I lost my chance for a MU membership if they are not giving it to people without an invite--I bought the bundle before that was clarified. Perhaps, MU will change their minds on this.

 

[Donnacha]

It's ironic that the people, like you, who took a leap of faith and bought in early, are the ones getting screwed on this whole invites thing.

Unfortunately, even though their wording was misleading until they were forced to rewrite it, I don't think MU are going to bother helping the early adopters who lost out because they are systematically deleting posts to their discussion thread that mention it.

It's decent of you, and others, to go to the trouble of passing on your invites, despite losing out yourselves, but, frankly, this shouldn't be necessary. I mean, c'mon, how broken is a marketing idea that necessitates some random guy having to create a rushed independent website to make it work.

 

[MacinDoc]

FWIW, this site attempts to but is not successful in turning on the iSight camera on my MB. Is this a security feature working in my favor, or is there a problem with my MB?

 

[eenu]

Otherwise, their enthusiasm for this offer might have been significantly killed.

Well the lack of enthusiasm/unhappiness in this thread wasn't because of the MacUpdate promo.

Its not looking like they are doing to well anyway! All those of you who wanted Intaglio will probably get it but it will be very close

 

[iAlice]

Good morning, everybody!

I just checked the invites manager at:
http://www.cedrik.fr/mupromo/

and 5 people are presently waiting for someone's unused promo invites.

I gave mine yesterday; it was easy, painless, seemed very safe, and made me feel like I was helping my fellow MacUsers get an enhanced promo deal.

If you have not used your 2 invites from your promo purchase, please visit the Cedrik site and pass them on. This has helped 132 people already.

And it helps us boost the bundles-sold number down the road to unlocking Intaglio!

Thanks, Alice

 

[Donnacha]

Good morning, everybody!

I just checked the invites manager at:
http://www.cedrik.fr/mupromo/

and 5 people are presently waiting for someone's unused promo invites.

I gave mine yesterday; it was easy, painless, seemed very safe, and made me feel like I was helping my fellow MacUsers get an enhanced promo deal.

It's good that you got a sense of well-being by jumping through those unnecessary hoops. It's clear, however, that the vast majority of the 2,500 purchasers so far have not gone to the same trouble - there were hardly any sales overnight and the discussion on MUpromo.com is now flooded with people complaining. It would appear that, having discovered that they are not themselves to receive a membership, despite the original wording of the deal suggesting they would, people are not in the mood to faff around sharing their email address at 3rd-party websites.

If you have not used your 2 invites from your promo purchase, please visit the Cedrik site and pass them on. This has helped 132 people already.

Not really - 132 have received invites but, because the invites system has bottle-necked the promo as a whole and it looks as if further unlocks will not be reached, those invites are remaining unused and not generating more invites. Also, because it's taken more than 24hrs to generate those few invites (132? They really need 9,999!), many of the receivers had already received invites by begging on forums and the MU discussion thread. So, Cedric's excellent efforts are mostly leading to lots of unused invites sitting in peoples' inboxes - certainly, the invites are not going forth and propagating as planned.

And it helps us boost the bundles-sold number down the road to unlocking Intaglio!

Don't hold your breath.

Honestly, at this stage, if anyone has any contact with the MU guys (because they haven't said a word on their own site for over 24hrs), try to talk some sense to them.

 

[shadowfax]

I Think that MUeller responded to one of my comments last night, on the big thread. He was being very disappointed. I'm kind of irritated. Little snitch will come in handy, for sure, and the SRS iWow thing is pretty cool. Cocktail replaces TinkerTool for me, which I had never paid for (and only ever used to adjust the dock position). But I already owned fetch, and the other apps are not very much use to me. I would certainly not have bought these apps for $50. I will use Intaglio, I think, and that will salve the irritation, but I really had my hopes set on TTPro. And it's not happening. I don't think I will be a MacUpdate customer again, given their apparent pride in this matter.

 

[Donnacha]

LOL, I just took a look at that exchange between you and MUeller - it's funny as Hell that he tries to argues that it is not, as you observed, a bottleneck, even though almost all the dozen or so posts between your post and his response are people begging for invites

He really doesn't get it. Is he the main guy behind MU?

 

[Donnacha]

I just posted this proposal to the MUpromo discussion - who knows, someone might be listening:

macfan601, thanks for the kind words. What strikes me is that there have been so much thoughful analysis, from you, me and many others, not whining but actually pointing out exactly WHY the promo is bombing.

Although it appears as if the organizers have decided to go into hiding rather than salvage the situation, perhaps all of us here should agree upon a workable rescue plan - who knows, perhaps the MU folks will be inspired to get their game together and accept some well-meant advice.

Here are my suggestions, I would love to hear everyone else's:
1. Make the free MU membership a standard part of the bundle AND send one to everyone who has already taken a leap of faith on this promo.

(Effect - removal of bottleneck, clarity of offer, goodwill and extra publicity will push sales to Intaglio unlock with 24hrs)

2. Reduce TTP unlock level to 8000, on the obvious presumption that reaching it will stimulate an extra 2000 sales thereafter.

(Effect - having hit 4,000 with 2.5 days to go, 8000 will seem achievable, whereas 10,000 will not. As proved by MacHeist, the mere act of lowering that currently far off unlock level will bring the entire promo back to life and no money will be lost because, obviously, loads of people will jump onboard once TTP is unlocked).

3. Add a clause that, if TTP is unlocked within the last 24hrs, an extra 48hrs will be added to the promo, giving extra time for the news to spread and further ensure in excess of 10,000 sales - I figure that this mis-judgement with the invites has put the promo behind by 48hrs anyway.

Please MU, be big enough to see that you've messed up and take advice from people who mean well and don't want to see you torpedo your hard-earned reputation.

C'mon everyone, let's sort this mess out.

 

[keirnna]

eenu,

Things are not as sinister as you imply...

The reason I made my "official response" (link) without any detailed explantion is that I didn't want to look like I was making excuses. In that, I understand the greater issue is one of perceived impropriety rather than necessarily any actual impropriety. Whether or not the story would have been posted without any finanicial incentive is irrelevant for the most part, since its impossible to separate after the fact.

The actual circumstances, however, are as follows ... MacRumors posted the original MacHeist stories as a cross promotion and had no finanicial stake or incentive. I think that's been clear. I was approached last week about participating in MacHeist II which I agreed to before any finanical offer was made. After the fact, I was offered some financial reward. This obviously complicated things down the line. Now, how can you believe me? You can't. Hence the official "no excuses" reponse before. However, I don't think it's arguable that the story was not of genuine interest for many. The reason I didn't disclose it initially? It didn't occur to me due to the sequence of events and that I was posting it without [initially] financial incentive. The reason I disclosed it later? You asked me outright if the site made any from MacHeist, and I realized that there could be issues of perceived impropriety. I think I've been pretty open about it in general.

eenu, I think you have to ask yourself is this. Let's say 6 months down the line, MacHeist III happens. I will certainly make sure to have no financial stake in it, but if I post a story about it anyway, would that bother you? If it would, then I have to reiterate that I think the bigger issue for you is that of MacHeist itself than the financial issues we've been talking about.

arn

I just want to say that I am happy that you ran this and the other ads. If you can make money from them that good for you. I don't care if you have stakes in an ad or not. I bought both of these bundles and I think they were/are a great deal.

 

[eenu]

I just want to say that I am happy that you ran this and the other ads. If you can make money from them that good for you. I don't care if you have stakes in an ad or not. I bought both of these bundles and I think they were/are a great deal.

The point was he didn't post it as an ADVERT it went in as NEWS. Please read the thread.

 

[keirnna]

The point was he didn't post it as an ADVERT it when in as NEWS. Please read the thread.

Yeah I did, like you said no one but you and two other people care.

 

[Donnacha]

Yeah I did, like you said no one but you and two other people care.

Eenu, you have to admit that an awful lot of people have made a point of saying that they appreciated hearing about this Mac-related news, regardless of the site's involvement. Usually, people with a bone to pick dominate a thread, while the unbothered majority remain silent. In this case, though, you've created a backlash!

BTW, how is your own bundle coming along? Any response to your email from Panic yet? Perhaps phoning them would be worth a shot too.

 

[eenu]

Yeah I did, like you said no one but you and two other people care.

If you had read correctly you wouldn't have written what you had. I am presuming your living in the USA? I guess your used to biased news then eh....

Eenu, you have to admit that an awful lot of people have made a point of saying that they appreciated hearing about this Mac-related news, regardless of the site's involvement. Usually, people with a bone to pick dominate a thread, while the unbothered majority remain silent. In this case, though, you've created a backlash!

BTW, how is your own bundle coming along? Any response to your email from Panic yet? Perhaps phoning them would be worth a shot too.

If you want to know more about that PM me. All looking promising at the moment.

 

[keirnna]

If you had read correctly you wouldn't have written what you had. I am presuming your living in the USA? I guess your used to biased news then eh....

I live in Japan!