Archicad Subscription Renewal Pending - Worth It???

[archislave]

My reseller has indicated that September 30 is the end of mysubscription. In fact, I am being told that this is THE time for EVERYONE to renew. Even if I renew in January my supscription will revert to October 1. This does not make sense.

They are having a 'special' discount of $150 or so and a discount on a very beginners training book. There are really no strong incentives for the supscription program except for the discount.

I think Graphisoft has moved to subscription to help even out their financial revenue and the time table and value seem arbitrary. The subscription / ugrade price of $795 is way over priced. I could see $495 which is what it cost last year.

What do you guys think?

[TomWaltz]

This is the first I've heard of it.... is $795 with the discount? or without?

[archislave]

The current special is $645 until Sept. 30. Then it will be 'at least' $795 after that. If I decide I can't afford a subscription until next February or March then the subscription will backdate to Oct 1 of 2006. Esentially, I will only get five months of subscription until Oct 1 2007.

Now, does this seem fair?

I guess basically they want it to be a no brainer to upgrade in September so you will get the once a year special price of $645. We can look at it as a yearly tax or cost of doing business. I think many would like to see a yearly subscription at the end of the tax year or beginning of the year.

This is Graphisoft's policy and all dealers seem to offer similar prices and lack of incentives - like beginner training manual Step by Step. How about Virtual Tutor 10 DVD?

Text of Email:

You can now take advantage of the updated and improved Archicad
Subscription Program now known as ArchiPLUS. Stay current on new product
releases while more easily managing your budget because any ARCHICAD
upgrade that is released during your subscription term is delivered FREE
to subscribers.
New and renewed ArchiPLUS subscription members will receive the following:

Automatic Upgrades:
Receive Archicad upgrades for FREE, which will allow you to stay current
on Archicad while more easily managing your budget. This is extremely
helpful as Graphisoft moves towards a yearly upgrade release cycle.
- Value = $795
Step by Step Training Guide :
Learn from the Archicad Step by Step Training Guide & CD that comes with
your renewal. Designed for introductory and intermediate levels.
- Value = $65
Additional Tech Support:
For those moments when you are in need of support, we have established a
dedicated tech support email address for ArchiPLUS members. Members will
receive priority support.
- Value = Priceless.
Key Insurance:
Replaces your Archicad key if it is lost or stolen.
- Value = $150.
Member Discounts:
- Discounts on training programs
- Discounts on other third party products as published in our newsletter
each month
- 20% discount on ArchiGlazing and MaxonForm
Renewals by September 30, 2006 - Only $645 (save $50)
After September 30, we can not offer this discount so act now to save. If
you allow your subscription to lapse, it will only pick up from the
original expiration date so there is no advantage to waiting to subscribe
to ArchiPLUS at a later date.

[Laszlo Nagy]

archislave wrote:
The current special is $645 until Sept. 30. Then it will be 'at least' $795 after that. If I decide I can't afford a subscription until next February or March then the subscription will backdate to Oct 1 of 2006. Esentially, I will only get five months of subscription until Oct 1 2007.

Now, does this seem fair?

Subscription seems to be the trend for all big players in the CAD industry. Autodesk, Bentley are also doing it. I recently read some 2/3 of Bentley's revenue comes from subscription.

Actually, the Key Insurance feature seems pretty useful to me.

To also reflect to your question: Let us say you renew your subscription in March.
What if Archicad 11 comes out in January (let's suppose)?
Following your thinking, you will not be entitled to the Archicad 11 free upgrade then, because you did not have a subscription in January.
I guess the system is such that one is entitled to continuous free upgrades only if his subscription is continuous, too.

[Rakela Raul]

What if Archicad 11 comes out in January (let's suppose)?

"We are anticipating the next major Archicad upgrade to be released this summer. "

[archislave]

For me it is a simple issue of wanting to stop my subscription and start it in January. The new versions of Archicad only come out in the Summer. So that would hit it down the middle. My dealer says no and if I do it will revert back to October 1.

If you buy a new licence when the new version is released in say ... July - then you get the rest of the year as complimentary subscription.

Yes, the most valuable part is the key insurance which we should not need in the first place!

[TomWaltz]

archislave wrote:
For me it is a simple issue of wanting to stop my subscription and start it in January. The new versions of Archicad only come out in the Summer. So that would hit it down the middle. My dealer says no and if I do it will revert back to October 1.

If you buy a new licence when the new version is released in say ... July - then you get the rest of the year as complimentary subscription.

Yes, the most valuable part is the key insurance which we should not need in the first place!

Call another dealer. See if they tell you the same thing.

[Laszlo Nagy]

Rakela wrote:

What if Archicad 11 comes out in January (let's suppose)?

"We are anticipating the next major Archicad upgrade to be released this summer. "

Yes, I know, I used it as an example, because he said he would renew in February or March, that's all.

[archislave]

TomWaltz wrote:

Call another dealer. See if they tell you the same thing.

I guess this means that you are not a subscriber since you would know that this is a Graphisoft Policy under the Archiplus Subscription Program.

I the US businesses are extremely customer oriented and we are not used to an arbitrary and autoritarian ruling like that which prevents you getting a full years subscription starting from the point you choose to renew your subscription.

I think they will find that we will not buy it. Now the only thing I am worried about is loosing the key. You really need to pay the dealer $100 an hour for any detailed support or training anyway.

[TomWaltz]

archislave wrote:

TomWaltz wrote:
Call another dealer. See if they tell you the same thing.

I guess this means that you are not a subscriber since you would know that this is a Graphisoft Policy under the Archiplus Subscription Program.

I the US businesses are extremely customer oriented and we are not used to an arbitrary and autoritarian ruling like that which prevents you getting a full years subscription starting from the point you choose to renew your subscription.

I think they will find that we will not buy it. Now the only thing I am worried about is loosing the key. You really need to pay the dealer $100 an hour for any detailed support or training anyway.

Actually I am a subscriber. I've never heard of any of this.

If that's what dealers charge for tech support, i need to raise my rates 😉