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Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

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Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#71

Post by tonyedgecombe »

nhebb wrote: post #28
ghaff wrote: post #4

You're not really describing Shareware (though in practice it may not have been a whole lot different). Shareware was software distributed under a try-before-you-buy license but the license actually required you to pay if you continued to use the software beyond a certain time period. Did this make a difference for most users? No. But, when I wrote shareware, I usually got one or two 4 figure site licenses per year f…

> You're not really describing Shareware These days, yeah, but the term shareware started out as OP described. It later became synonymous with trialware. https://asp-software.org/www/history/the-origin-of-shareware...

Eventually it became a rather derogatory term, I remember endless debates in the ASP about abandoning it, which I think they did in the end.

A lot of it was on the covers of magazines or you could order a set of disks from people like Atlantic Coast:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/edgecombe/4709059216

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#72

Post by tonyedgecombe »

bluedino wrote: post #5
taprun wrote: post #3

Donation ware is a thing, but it rarely works well. Besides, hockey stick growth on a product that is free to obtain and use isn't a surefire means of proving future profitability. The easiest way to make money is the old fashioned way: charge for it.

Or charge for support

But who wants to work in support?

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#73

Post by mherrmann »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #66
mherrmann wrote: post #31

I've been developing a cross-platform file manager [1] for the past 2.5 years. It is shareware with a nag screen. It currently makes ~$500 per month. Generally, I would say yes, shareware still works. But it is hard a) to write desktop software [2] and b) to convince people to pay for it. I would not give people the sources. It would make them feel even more like "I don't need to pay for this". What works for me is t…

This is not sustainable. If you like the project and want it to continue, buy a license Do you just nag or actually disable the product after a period? I was always surprised by the Sublime model, my experience indicates that if people can avoid paying then they will, even business customers.

I just nag. I want the larger user base so people develop plugins [1].

1: https://fman.io/docs/plugins

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#74

Post by mherrmann »

dotdi wrote: post #57
mherrmann wrote: post #31

I've been developing a cross-platform file manager [1] for the past 2.5 years. It is shareware with a nag screen. It currently makes ~$500 per month. Generally, I would say yes, shareware still works. But it is hard a) to write desktop software [2] and b) to convince people to pay for it. I would not give people the sources. It would make them feel even more like "I don't need to pay for this". What works for me is t…

The layout of your top-bar somewhat breaks[0] if I zoom in beyond 130% --- [0]: https://imgur.com/a/f9CATyj

Thanks for letting me know :-)

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#75

Post by ghaff »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #71
nhebb wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You're not really describing Shareware These days, yeah, but the term shareware started out as OP described. It later became synonymous with trialware. https://asp-software.org/www/history/the-origin-of-shareware...

Eventually it became a rather derogatory term, I remember endless debates in the ASP about abandoning it, which I think they did in the end. A lot of it was on the covers of magazines or you could order a set of disks from people like Atlantic Coast: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edgecombe/4709059216

The ASP at least for a long time took a hard line against crippling whether by feature or time limiting. After I moved on (and retail software started offering demos, open source became widespread, etc.) shareware evolved into the sort of crippleware, adware, etc. that you still see in some corners of the software world today.

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#76

Post by tonyedgecombe »

ahje wrote: post #70
tonyedgecombe wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feedback from people who don't pay anything is useless if you want to build a business.

Even if the feedback may result in improvements that would result in a product they _want_ to pay for?

I used to believe that but eventually I became worn down by it all. You get so many "opportunities" presented to you that don't turn into anything that you have to take most of it with a pinch of salt.

On the other hand someone who has put their hand in their pocket is going to get a lot of my attention.

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#77

Post by monokai_nl »

My color scheme https://www.monokai.pro is downloadable for free for Sublime and VSCode. It has a nag screen a la Sublime Text that tells you it's free for evaluation, but needs a license for continued usage. A small percentage of people purchases a license, but for sure not all 200K of them.

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#78

Post by pbhjpbhj »

TAForObvReasons wrote: post #49
tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #18

I've built a small tool that I distributed as "free for personal use, contact me for a commercial license", without technical enforcement, not even a nag screen. I made one (1) sale, despite receiving e-mails from several people thanking me that they're happily using it at work, and that sale was to a company who wanted customization, and only ended up actually paying the invoice when they asked for another round of…

The problem is that the tool is being used in a business setting, but the phrase "free for personal use, contact me for a commercial license" does not obligate the users to obtain a different license. They are likely not selling the tool or distributing it, but merely using it. If you really want a legal way to get companies to pay, phrase it as "free for non-commercial use" and include that in the public documentati…

> Non-commercial includes the indirect commercial cases that would apply to the tool. //

AIUI that is wrong in USA and UK (don't know about other countries). At least if using the "non-commercial" definition used in IP law.

For example, you create an advert for free for an event that charges money, that's commercial. You give stuff away that impacts someone else's ability to sell, that's commercial. You do a free event, charge for snacks, it's a commercial event.

Use an app privately the results of which you use to benefit your employer, that's a commercial use.

It's pretty hard to answer the general question for "an app" rather than a specific app and associated action.

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#79

Post by auggierose »

anoncake wrote: post #48
jolmg wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh. I didn't know Patreon published info on what creators are earning. Wouldn't that be a design flaw? What's the benefit to anybody? It seems to only deter potential sponsors.

So people can avoid sponsoring creators that already have a fair income level.

"Fair" is relative.

Re: Ask HN: Does Shareware still work in 2018?

#80

Post by huhtenberg »

monokai_nl wrote: post #77

My color scheme https://www.monokai.pro is downloadable for free for Sublime and VSCode. It has a nag screen a la Sublime Text that tells you it's free for evaluation, but needs a license for continued usage. A small percentage of people purchases a license, but for sure not all 200K of them.

To put it bluntly and I mean no offense whatsoever - you come across as completely nuts trying to charge 10 EUR for a damn color scheme. That's basically what 200K people think when dismissing your nag.
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