Why is it so hard to buy ARCHICAD / get sales to call ??

[Anonymous]

As I research my switch from Chief Architect, I am looking at Archicad and Vectorworks. One thing strikes me as odd, sales reps from Vectorworks were very easy to contact, email, etc..while GRAPHISOFT is like a big secret. The local sales rep responds days later, their pricing structure is no where to be found unless you email them for a quote, etc...

What's the big secret Graphisoft? And get some better sales reps. Your sales force is too hard to reach.

I've received follow calls and emails 4 times already DIRECTLY from Vectorworks. Graphisoft has thrown me to a local sales rep that seems to be too busy and he doesn't even have a sales website. That's not a good sign to someone looking to invest $18,000 in software.

Am I allowed to buy from a sales rep outside my local area? Archvista looks good, Cadeshack too, and 3DCADCO in Miami.

[Brett Brown]

CARMELHILL wrote:
I've received follow up calls and emails 4 times already DIRECTLY from Vectorworks.

Doesn't that say it all?

I'm wondering why you would even waste your time even trying Archicad when you are experienced with Vectorworks. I assume you have looked at the improvements since you last used it, and from what I have trialled recently it has superior organisation than Archicad with the number one thing being the Resource Manager. Also live open views is great on multiple monitors just to name a few.

Also, you can buy preowned licences of Vectorworks and the change of ownership fee is a hundred dollars. Trying to sell an Archicad licence when the agents charge thousands to transfer the licence, is hard as it works out for the purchaser to just buy a new one.

Perhaps if you are wanting it for commercial buildings you need Teamwork? Have no idea if Vectorworks has an equivalent.

Good luck with your choice.

[Anonymous]

Brett wrote:
I'm wondering why you would even waste your time even trying Archicad when you are experienced with Vectorworks. .

I went through the VW user forum and was turned off by a few things I read. They have very snazzy product videos on Youtube, but that's propaganda. I remember it being buggy in 2011 and crashing occasionally. Users have said many tools aren't ready for prime time, or never get updated and fixed to work properly. I'm not looking to invest in a headache that requires constant workarounds. Chief Architect rarely crashes and all the tools do what their supposed to do. But I need some basic commercial functionality which it lacks, but it's still king for standard residential (not modern stuff). So it looks like I'm headed for a dual platform.

[Karl Ottenstein]

[Note: I've split the posts from two separate topics that all have to do with this lack of response to a potential customer. Buried in old topics with subject lines that are not relevant to the issue at hand is no way to expect any response on the core issue here. As alway - please start a NEW thread with a clear and very specific subject line for any new topic. Thanks. - Moderator]

[Anonymous]

I received a call today from Graphisoft Corporate because they read my frustrated comments about pricing transparency and a lack of sales distributor response. They are making changes, slow progress, but making changes. He gave me some good information and also helped to steer me in the right direction concerning product purchases and what platform would best suit the needs of my growing business.

Nice to see they monitor the forum and reach out when needed.

The search continues.....

[Anonymous]

Richard wrote:

CARMELHILL wrote:
... They just stole all your intellectual property and turned to exhortation to keep you as a client. <snip>
Chief Architect is bullet proof. It never crashes. Unfortunately, it has zero commercial tools.

I think you meant "extortion," but you are essentially correct. Autodesk used to have a "perpetual license" option with a "maintenance plan." This license would work forever at the current version whenever you stopped the maintenance, but if you didn't renew your maintenance for 3 years (I believe it was), you would have to buy the full license all over again if you wanted the latest version. Now, they only offer subscriptions where you need to "pay to play." I have been turned off to Autodesk's business practices ever since they unilaterally cancelled license transfers during R14, wiping out my initial investment when I moved to ArchiCAD.

BTW, if Chief has never crashed for you, you are not pushing it very hard.

Mega Ditto Richard, on all fronts. Autodesk is a huge turnoff for me for all the reasons stated. Although I have had little time on this forum to exploit the expertise of what is an obvious serious group of users, I chose Archicad over Revit 2018 and Vectorworks because of people like you. I was completely taken aback by how welcoming Archicad users and devotees are to new users. Not that Revit and VW were not, it's was just much more welcoming here. Eric's comprehensive video works was the real deal maker for me. VW has nothing like it, that I could find, Revit has some of the best video training on the market (imho) via Lynda.com, and the instructors are true teaching pros! There were just too many things about Revit that did not sit well with me so Archicad won out. Now that I have time to focus on learning and not rushing projects out the door, I am so looking forward to Archicad. As far as Chief is concerned...pretty pictures...but when it comes to modeling and structure logic and condocs..."It's a nightmare on Elm Street"!