Soldato
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- 12 Sep 2012
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That will probably happen. A third party which makes deals with Spotify, netflix, amazon, skyports and whatever to offer discounted subscription packages.
Why is everything turning into a subscription and when will it stop?
- Thread starter mrochester
- Start date
Yes you can go to the shop when you need them. The whole point of these sub services is to get you hooked into thinking that you require snack boxes delivered every week or a new razor blade every month and that your life will be incomplete without them.
It's not about managing your budget, it's about looking after your money.
Soldato
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- 12 Sep 2012
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The point is not to get you hooked but to commit to a model that allows for better cost planning for the business.
What you are saying still sounds like the issue lies with irresponsible consumers rather than irresponsible pricing.
It is not like you can argue there should be no subscriptions or restrict what can be sold by subscription. You can argue that there should always be an option to pay the equivalent of a subscription in advance in one go and the vast majority of companies prefer you to do so.
What you are saying still sounds like the issue lies with irresponsible consumers rather than irresponsible pricing.
It is not like you can argue there should be no subscriptions or restrict what can be sold by subscription. You can argue that there should always be an option to pay the equivalent of a subscription in advance in one go and the vast majority of companies prefer you to do so.
Hope it doesn't stop! Love subscription and utility based building. I think it encourages companies to continually improve rather than stagnate and I can cancel typically within a month if I no longer want the service Hate buying commodity stuff over a longer term.
Soldato
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- 27 Dec 2005
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I subscribe to Spotify, Netflix, Amazon, Google and NowTV and via business to Adobe, Microsoft, Google and Xero amongst others. As well as all the usual telecoms etc.
The model is fantastic. For entertainment, geez, most people probably moan about some of them over a pint which cost more than a month's unpinned unlimited use. For software, do you really miss the days of having to wait for the next version (and upgrade/buy again) before you see any update? Now major updates and new features are pushed out weekly, ad-hoc and on the fly.
The model is fantastic. For entertainment, geez, most people probably moan about some of them over a pint which cost more than a month's unpinned unlimited use. For software, do you really miss the days of having to wait for the next version (and upgrade/buy again) before you see any update? Now major updates and new features are pushed out weekly, ad-hoc and on the fly.
Most of the things mentioned in the OP have been around as subscription models for years, predating the internet.
In terms of a trend towards subscription models, there tends to be an expectation these days that services will be maintained and enhanced, so a subs model makes sense to fund the maintenance.
I don't have a big issue with it, to me it makes sense that different payment options are available. For many years people have effectively subscribed to the most expensive things in life such as accommodation, vehicles, healthcare (via premiums) etc, so why not other stuff too?
In terms of a trend towards subscription models, there tends to be an expectation these days that services will be maintained and enhanced, so a subs model makes sense to fund the maintenance.
I don't have a big issue with it, to me it makes sense that different payment options are available. For many years people have effectively subscribed to the most expensive things in life such as accommodation, vehicles, healthcare (via premiums) etc, so why not other stuff too?
Depends a bit - for some stuff I like to have a stable, predictable, environment where I know I'll always have access to the software and a usage flow/features I'm familiar with. Latest and greatest isn't always the best especially as there seems to be a theme of removing some features or putting in "lite" versions in subsequent revisions of software for various reasons.
For entertainment purposes it's very good. Especially around the 10 quid mark. Physically owning media seems so redundant.
However for many things i personally find it comical.
Food and cooking recipes ingredients boxes and some software being my 2 biggest.
Scratch Cooking especially, I think should be a basic skill and not packaged at great extra cost as convenience.
However for many things i personally find it comical.
Food and cooking recipes ingredients boxes and some software being my 2 biggest.
Scratch Cooking especially, I think should be a basic skill and not packaged at great extra cost as convenience.
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- 29 Sep 2003
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Sounds like you are being taken for a ride there.
Things like music and film subscriptions are good, but others are a bit dubious. My girlfriend needed a short use of Photoshop. I thought oh great we can use a monthly sub for it, pay for a month and move on.
Sadly not they expect a minimum sub length of what an outright payment would have been a few years ago, total trash. So out came the ancient copy of CS2...
Sadly not they expect a minimum sub length of what an outright payment would have been a few years ago, total trash. So out came the ancient copy of CS2...