$4 Starbucks coffee is a gamble imho
Not a gamble, really, just the certainty that that $4 coffee will suck, no matter which street, city, state or country you find yourself. But this is not about Starbucks.
Stop Using The Cup of Coffee vs. $0.99 Cent App Analogy
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Re: Stop Using The Cup of Coffee vs. $0.99 Cent App Analogy
#12Hi Josh, interesting read. I noticed the following typos:
"Great software masks it’s complexity"
"Package it such that it shows off it’s craftsmanship"
"I don’t expect it to even last beyond it’s last drop"
"Its like an infant child in that regard"
Re: Stop Using The Cup of Coffee vs. $0.99 Cent App Analogy
#13$4 Starbucks coffee is a gamble imho
But it's not a gamble because it's the same every time. It's high quality every time. It has the weight of a quality brand behind it. Maybe it's a small gamble the first time you buy it, but after that it's not a gamble. The argument isn't about the price of your app or their first cup of Starbucks coffee, it's about the price of your app or another Starbucks coffee.
People know Starbucks; people know Starbucks coffee. It's a very stable and well known experience to regular customers.
People don't know you; people don't know your software. I don't know if buying your software will actually cause me more inconvenience than convenience. (Buggy, bad UX, hard to uninstall, installs additional crap like browser plugins)
That's why buying an app is a gamble, and buying coffee isn't. That's why you cant make a good argument by comparing the price of your app to the price of a coffee.
EDIT: Actually I guess the $4 drinks are a gamble afterall. My only Starbucks experience is "normal" coffee. Which I guess is more in the $2 - $3 range.
Re: Stop Using The Cup of Coffee vs. $0.99 Cent App Analogy
#14I'm not so sure about the argument that most people would forgo the $4 cup of Starbucks, given a free alternative. Every office that I've ever worked in provided free coffee, and half of the office would still regularly pick up coffee from the nearest Starbucks daily. I think there's something to be said for
1) Crafting the "image" of superiority that people get from purchasing Starbucks (having that nice branded Starbucks cup, rather than the crappy styrofoam one your office provides, allowing people to order ridiculously tailored drinks -- soy half caff with a dollop of creme...etc) and
2) Providing an ecosystem to encourage the purchase over free alternatives (I've noticed that I'll stop at Starbucks for a snack because I'm hungry in the morning, and pick up coffee/tea as well, just because I'm there)
Re: Stop Using The Cup of Coffee vs. $0.99 Cent App Analogy
#15I agree with the idea that purchasing 99 cent app is a total gamble, even if I don't have much to lose.
If I were writing a mobile app, I'd have a free version and a paid version. The only difference between the two would be with the free version, you'd have to look at a screen trying to get you to upgrade to the paid version, and you would be forced to look at this screen for at least X seconds, where X is proportional to how many times you have used the application.
I like this approach because it users could try out my app risk free, but those who want to freeload off of my hard work would be inconvenienced enough where I think I could manage to convert a decent percentage of free users into paid members. Plus, the user can still use the app, but each time they use it you get a chance to upsell them, which you don't get if you just lock them out.
Re: Stop Using The Cup of Coffee vs. $0.99 Cent App Analogy
#16I think there's a deeper cause behind many of these arguments. People hate to feel ripped off, to a degree that is highly irrational if you assess the impact in purely utilitarian terms. Even a billionaire will feel a bit shitty after paying $0.99 for a lemon.
There are various reasons why this happens. Partly it's the fact they wasted time researching and purchasing the app, and people's time is usually more important than $0.99 or coffee. Partly it's an innate sense of justice. But the main factor is that we don't like to feel that we screwed up. Even worse if you just paid for an app before learning there's a better one that's free.
A good book that covers this is The Paradox of Choice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice:_Why_More...; credit Build and Analyze podcast for raising the topic a while back.)
Re: Stop Using The Cup of Coffee vs. $0.99 Cent App Analogy
#17$4 Starbucks coffee is a gamble imho
Not a gamble, really, just the certainty that that $4 coffee will suck, no matter which street, city, state or country you find yourself. But this is not about Starbucks.
It actually is about Starbucks, not the coffee or the price.
It's about you knowing that Starbucks is Starbucks no matter which street, city, state or country you find yourself in. Whether you love or hate it, it's at least consistent.
That's why it's not a gamble.
Re: Stop Using The Cup of Coffee vs. $0.99 Cent App Analogy
#18I get the point, but I think the analogies are a bit artificial.
"Starbucks is a trustable experience." The assumption is that all people all the time buy known brand coffee. From my own, I know I walk into coffee shops I have never been to before. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Even at Starbucks there are times I ask for decaf and get caffed coffee, or other times, the green tea latte is just not mixed right, or the milk was a bit on the old side, etc.
"Starbucks (or any known brand coffee) has no free alternative." Yes there is, it's water. Or, if you're looking for the substance of coffee, then there certainly are cheaper alternatives --Jolt, or no-doze, etc. Or there is also just plain regular non-espresso coffee for a quarter of the price, or office coffee.
"Apps can be a gamble." Trying a new flavor of coffee drink can be a gamble, but given that Starbucks and other introduce new drinks, someone is taking the chance on unknowns. Well, it's trusted! Sure, but as you know, people will try stuff and will go back to what they always bought. Still, they're willing to forgo $4 to try something new which may or may not suit their palate.
PS. For example, I really doubt people research new flavors before buying a new espresso drink combo but apparently they are willing to devote massive amounts of time and opportunity cost to research a dollar app. It's very lopsided and strange.
Re: Stop Using The Cup of Coffee vs. $0.99 Cent App Analogy
#19Fact: starting every paragraph with "Fact:" will make you sound condescending to readers.
To be fair the author is condescending to the people who read the article, which the author labels as "the internet".
From the bottom of the article:
> Comments are not currently enabled because the internet has not yet learned how to deal with the ability to post comments. Its like an infant child in that regard. - Josh
Re: Stop Using The Cup of Coffee vs. $0.99 Cent App Analogy
#20For a lot of people, a cup of Starbucks also feels like a "must-have". We all feel groggy in the morning, and spending $4 for coffee isn't a lot if it helps us survive the day.
An app on the other hand, most of the time doesn't give us that same feeling. It's more of a nice-to-have, or nice to play with once and then forget. If it's an utility you use everyday like Evernote, it's different of course.