Realmac Goes Deep Into Its 'Clear for Mac' Pricing Strategy

[Akuratyde]

Hmm, I think his blog post is a little patronising.

I'll be the judge of whether I find something expensive or not, thanks!

I agree, especially when he's comparing the app against a $300 pair of jeans, as if that's a normal price for jeans and we all lead a lifestyle that allows us to pay such an extravagant price for something as simple as jeans.

 

[d0vr]

By beer? I think if you calculate cost based on beer, you probably have enough money to survive. I go by time=money. How many working hours would x item cost me? Many things get expensive when you look at it that way.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Lol

Well, in the vain world we all live in, a pair of great jeans and other expensive garments and accessories (iPhone 5 included) can help enhance a person's projected image...
Now, explain to me: How could a software app (particularly the app in question) do that?
What are people going to do... Wear their MacBooks with app running so everyone could see it? How about some nice and shiny bumper stickers?

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I agree, especially when he's comparing the app against a $300 pair of jeans, as if that's a normal price for jeans and we all lead a lifestyle that allows us to pay such an extravagant price for something as simple as jeans.

Without a doubt, if I was able to afford a $300 pair of jeans, I would definitely hire some else to handle my To-Do List.

 

[japasneezemonk]

If you read the rest of the article, you will see that people think that way all the time - he basically points out that is why there is no US consumer electronics industry, because they would build things, add a profit margin and call it a day.

And developers who state, "I spent 50 bajillion months on this, so I am going to charge $20 so it was worth my time and effort" are doing the same thing. Nobody cares.

The question to ask is, "how much additional value does my app create to an end user versus the next best solution?". For Clear, the competition is Reminders, and it is free.

I'm confused.

I was responding to macpeach55 and his comment where he said Drucker was just regurgitating the obvious. I was insinuating that Druckers' ideas all seem obvious to us today, because much of his theory has become convention.

 

[D-a-a-n]

A few years ago, $15 for an Mac app of this caliber would have been considered a bargain. It's interesting how "app store economics" have changed people's expectations.

Dude, no, just no, you always have to consider the context. These are the facts:
- mountain lion upgrade: 20$
- pages (or numbers, or keynote): 20$
- pixelmator: 15$
- Call of duty / GTA San andreas: somewhere around 15$
- etc

- Clear todo-app: ONLY 15$, for a ...wait for it...TODO-APP!? Omg bargaaaain!

Even 10$ is too much, I don't care how much that is in pints or hipster denim jeans. The profit they're making on this is huge. If you were to spend 10 or 15$ on a todo app (that indeed looks very slick and hip), but basically doensn't make you more productive than a simple todo app for 2$, how much would you spend on a car for example? I mean come on, only Apple can pull this high-margin con on people for their hardware etc because they have truy well designed machines/software unmatched by other companies. But an overly expensive todo-app with a zillion alternatives available?
This of course is al IMO .

 

[bjcskier]

Clear for iOS is unreal. Simple and fun.

$10 still feels like too much for the app.

If I were him I'd start listening to consumers and stop justifying a high price with blog posts.

I MIGHT have bought it at $6.99 (which was a stretch, but hey - I loved the iOS version) - but $9.99 is about 99% out of the question.

To actually price the Mac version at $14.99 is nuts.

 

[Reason077]

Dude, no, just no, you always have to consider the context.

I wasn't suggesting that $15 isn't too much in 2012. I'm not planning to buy it . But just a few years ago, $15 for this app wouldn't have seemed like a lot. Our perspectives have changed.

Just like how spending up to $5000 on a high-end laptop was pretty common in 2000. But that would be ridiculously expensive today.

- mountain lion upgrade: 20$
- pages (or numbers, or keynote): 20$
- pixelmator: 15$
- Call of duty / GTA San andreas: somewhere around 15$
- etc

You're proving my point here. Each of these items would have been a lot more expensive just a few years ago.

 

[Carouser]

I like how Jarman implies that people don't know how to value their money. If Clear for Mac sells (or doesn't), it's because they know how to spend their cash. The lecture (ahem, 'advice') isn't warranted.

If he thinks Clear is some kind of 'artisanal' 'curated' app, he could have compared it to whatever overpriced hipsterjunk Best Made Co is trying to sling these days.

 

[akatsuki]

If Steve Jobs had thought the way you do, there would be no Apple.

Exactly the opposite - he said "how do I create a product that adds a ton of value to the user and therefore will justify a premium over a commodity Windows box?"

 

[IJ Reilly]

By beer? I think if you calculate cost based on beer, you probably have enough money to survive. I go by time=money. How many working hours would x item cost me? Many things get expensive when you look at it that way.

The concept of economic value allows the use of any method of exchange to make relative value comparisons. As it was taught to me (and probably others), using a non-monitary method drives home the point that all economic transactions are exchanges of value.

Exactly the opposite - he said "how do I create a product that adds a ton of value to the user and therefore will justify a premium over a commodity Windows box?"

Exactly, except with a historical point of order: Windows did not exist when Apple created the Mac (if that is what you meant), so Mac vs. Windows was not the point of comparison at that time.

 

[darkplanets]

My brain does the same job. It's free, requires no software updates, and can't feasibly be broken without other serious life issues.

 

[petsounds]

Exactly the opposite - he said "how do I create a product that adds a ton of value to the user and therefore will justify a premium over a commodity Windows box?"

Perhaps I misunderstood. But in the previous post I responded to, you said, "[...] decide on the price it will sell at and then focus on putting the effort into it that gets you there and no more." That's not the kind of attitude Jobs had. Jobs designed a product around being 'insanely great', and then put a price on it. Price was irrelevant. Of course, there are people at Apple who care about price, but it wasn't Steve. Most companies do price-driven product design; what Apple does is product-driven product design.