topic Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased? in Modeling

has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Chazz — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:09:01 GMT

It seems to me that the USA transfer fee that GS charged to upgrade a copy of AC when purchased secondhand used to be about $200. This post http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=19740 makes me think it has increase rather dramatically. If true, this represents a significant erosion of the equity one has in the software. Anyone have any experience with this?

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Laura Yanoviak — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:03:43 GMT

We bought a "used" copy of AC9 a couple of months ago, and the license transfer fee was $475. (The upgrade from AC9 to AC11 was $1095, which actually make the "used" AC9 copy more expensive than a new AC11 license.)

EDIT: We purchased the AC9 key for around $3000, so the total price was $4570 or > $4250.

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Karl Ottenstein — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 03:06:24 GMT

I have a license for 11 for sale at the moment...
http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=19631

and was told by my reseller that the fee is $475/seat. I'm pretty sure I paid $395 to transfer a license 7 years ago, so the increase isn't significant.

Karl

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Thomas Holm — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:02:24 GMT

Laura wrote:
The upgrade from AC9 to AC11 was $1095, which actually make the "used" AC9 copy more expensive than a new AC11 license.

What do you pay for a new AC11 license??

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

TomWaltz — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 10:34:43 GMT

Thomas wrote:
Laura wrote:
The upgrade from AC9 to AC11 was $1095, which actually make the "used" AC9 copy more expensive than a new AC11 license.

What do you pay for a new AC11 license??

I think $4250.

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:39:46 GMT

TomWaltz wrote:
I think $4250.

DOH? For a single license? It's not nearby what we pay here in north Europe.

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:46:09 GMT

why should it cost anything at all.

From an Admin point of view it only takes a couple of seconds to add a name to a database.

I think it is a way to encourge customers to buy new from GS rather than put to use unused second hand dongles. Come on GS - you should encourage recycling

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Chazz — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:20:58 GMT

I think this proves that the original poster of this thread is suffering delusions and has lost his mind. He could have sworn his reseller said, only a few years ago, "about $200". Not surprising, really, the poor sod can scarcely remember the name of his children and sometimes calls them by the dog's name. Pity him and please, post no more proof of his failing grasp on reality.

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

TomWaltz — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:37:50 GMT

TurboGlider wrote:
TomWaltz wrote:
I think $4250.
DOH? For a single license? It's not nearby what we pay here in north Europe.

Yep, that's $4250 USD per license, plus the annual subscription fee of $695.

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Thomas Holm — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:46:50 GMT

Chazz wrote:
I think this proves that the original poster of this thread is suffering delusions and has lost his mind. He could have sword his reseller said, only a few years ago, "about $200". Not surprising, really, the poor sod can scarcely remember the name of his children and sometimes calls them by the dog's name. Pity him and please, post no more proof of his failing grasp on reality.

He's still got his sense of humor though. But isn't it a little harsh to sword your reseller, just because the US dollar is losing its value?

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Karl Ottenstein — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:54:40 GMT

Lennox wrote:
why should it cost anything at all.

From an Admin point of view it only takes a couple of seconds to add a name to a database.

That's always been my opinion, which doesn't count for much... 😉

Karl

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Dwight — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:22:07 GMT

Karl wrote:
Lennox wrote:
why should it cost anything at all.

From an Admin point of view it only takes a couple of seconds to add a name to a database.
That's always been my opinion, which doesn't count for much... 😉

Karl

And then there's the equity-evaporating view that a software license could be an exclusive relationship that CAN'T be transferred.

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Rakela Raul — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:45:40 GMT

this is another great thing about this software, you can re-sell it.

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Thomas Holm — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:23:56 GMT

Rakela wrote:
this is another great thing about this software, you can re-sell it.

YES! Try that with Autodesk's offerings! Now there are some that have reason to sword their resellers!

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Rex Maximilian — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:58:45 GMT

Karl wrote:
I have a license for 11 for sale at the moment...
http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=19631

and was told by my reseller that the fee is $475/seat. I'm pretty sure I paid $395 to transfer a license 7 years ago, so the increase isn't significant.

Karl

It's been $475 for as long as I can remember. Your reseller was nice to you Karl!

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Rex Maximilian — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 12:02:26 GMT

Lennox wrote:
why should it cost anything at all.

From an Admin point of view it only takes a couple of seconds to add a name to a database.

I think it is a way to encourge customers to buy new from GS rather than put to use unused second hand dongles. Come on GS - you should encourage recycling

Lennox, it is a business. It is a software that requires extensive R&D and dedication to develop it. Encouraging you to recycle it would put them out of business. But, you should look at it this way... Some software (other CAD sw) does NOT allow you to even transfer licenses at all.

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Thomas Holm — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:49:03 GMT

Rex wrote:
... Some software (other CAD sw) does NOT allow you to even transfer licenses at all.

Spell it out, Rex:

Autodesk (Autocad, ADT, Revit) doesn't allow you to transfer the license. They also have compulsory subscription policies (not for all programs though - for those without compulsory subscription, like Autocad Lite, they instead have limited upgrade periods - if you don't upgrade within a certain time limit, your license is orphaned, meaning you have to pay full price once more if you want to upgrade later.

Bentley/Microstation policies are similar or worse.

If you think Graphisoft policies are draconian, the above is what the competition offers. I'd rather have GS any day.

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Chazz — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:53:40 GMT

Rex wrote:
Lennox, it is a business. It is a software that requires extensive R&D and dedication to develop it.

The same could be said of all software (in fact, it can be said of all products involving intellectual property). Still, I didn't have to write Toyota a check when I bought a used Camry for my wife. In fact, lots and lots of software can be resold without any notification at all (let alone transfer of money) to the original publisher. So it is really only in the light of Autodesk's repugnant behavior that Graphisoft's less bad tactics look palatable. Compared with the software industry as a whole, $475 just to transfuer software is an abomination.

However, my thought is that this is in place more as a protection for the resellers, and as long as they continue to add value to the end uesrs, it's acceptable.

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Eduardo Rolon — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:13:41 GMT

Actually I've been told that there are two options to resell an Autodesk license, either;

1 the office closes
2 the owner dies

Re: has the ArchiCAD transfer fee increased?

Thomas Holm — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:42:56 GMT

ejrolon wrote:
2 the owner dies

So if I kill myself, I can sell the Autocad license?