Live data from Hacker News

Canva Hikes Pices by 300pc as It Readies for IPO

ia.acs.org.au

41–50 of 90 posts

Re: Canva Hikes Pices by 300pc as It Readies for IPO

#41
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm no tech exec, but this seems fine to me. If your government increases the money supply, ceteris paribus the demand curve (for every product) will shift right. At that point the tech exec can raise their price along with their competitors for an easy win. They're not forced to, but it's monetary policy that made it possible.

Chicken or the egg? You’ve just pointed out a correlation but I’ve yet to see actual causation here.

Oh sure, I didn't mean I was giving the full explanation, only that I felt the idea wasn't so ridiculous.

Re: Canva Hikes Pices by 300pc as It Readies for IPO

#43
post #39
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm no tech exec, but this seems fine to me. If your government increases the money supply, ceteris paribus the demand curve (for every product) will shift right. At that point the tech exec can raise their price along with their competitors for an easy win. They're not forced to, but it's monetary policy that made it possible.

No need to jump into this ring of assumptions built onto assumptions (plus, what pre-IPO company is reading an Econ 101 textbook on Macroeconomics…?) As you near an IPO, you’d want to make your business look like it’s quite profitable to prevent the share price from nosediving on Day 1.

You're right of course. I guess I was trying to steelman the hypothetical exec's position as not totally unfounded or unreasonable, not give the final verdict.

Re: Canva Hikes Pices by 300pc as It Readies for IPO

#45
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe this is a really crazy idea, but businesses could compete on the free market, winning customers with superior products and services? And use revenue to grow? The initial investment to start a company, especially a tech company, isn't all that big anymore.

Is that not what Canva is doing? They’re raising prices because they think their product is superior. If they’re wrong, their customers will just switch to another product!

I'm referring to the 'capture customers and unreasonably hike the prices' business model, which intends to make profit of exactly the cases where a customer is NOT a rational agent, just like scams do. I'm not saying that's all there is to Canva, just making a general remark about these kinds of business models.

Because yes, in theory a customer can 'just' switch to another product. In reality though, there are various reasons why it isn't so easy. Customers get invested with their time, build skills, have projects, or just plain inertia. It takes some mental load to compare alternative products and make the switch. People are busy.

We don't think of bait-and-switch business models as scams, but once you see them as basically scams-light it becomes clear it is at least an open-question if their existence furthers the glory of the free market, or hinders it. We don't have a problem seeing scams or criminality as basically obstructing a free-market.

Eventually Canva will perish if they make the deal bad enough, unless they somehow achieve a monopoly or sales stranglehold (my term), but not before they squeeze a good few bucks out of frustrated users. If they are successful enough at it, it hollows out the market.

Re: Canva Hikes Pices by 300pc as It Readies for IPO

#46
post #8

Capture customers and unreasonably hike the prices is a business plan as popular as subscription services. I hope consumers and businesses will notice how unreliable this is and start choosing more user friendly products more often.

What should they choose? Today's more user friendly products are just tomorrow's unreasonable price-hikers that haven't captured enough customers to start enshittifying yet. Meanwhile, even without network effects, migrating to a new product is usually a hassle; the frog has to be quite thoroughly boiled before it's worth it.

> What should they choose?

Products which aren’t subscriptions to begin with, so the company can’t hike the price from under them with little notice and leave them in a position where they’re forced to pay and bleed money every day they fail to find an alternative.

Re: Canva Hikes Pices by 300pc as It Readies for IPO

#48
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Complaining that loose monetary policy is responsible for inflation is a pretty common theme from Musk/Trump fanboy type CEOs. They’re also starting to question universal suffrage in public now. Good times.

> Complaining that loose monetary policy is responsible for inflation is a pretty common theme from Musk/Trump fanboy type CEOs. What is the source of inflation then?

Inflation is when prices go up. CEOs (loosely speaking) set prices.

Re: Canva Hikes Pices by 300pc as It Readies for IPO

#49
post #24

Canva bought Serif for their quite nice Affinity suite some time back. I wonder how this will work out long term.

The made a pledge at the time:

> 1. We are committed to fair, transparent and affordable pricing, including the perpetual licenses that have made Affinity special.

> 2. We will double down on expanding Affinity’s products through continued investment in Affinity as a standalone product suite.

> 3. We will provide Affinity free for schools and nonprofits.

> 4. We are committed to listening and being led by the design community at every step in this journey.

https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/affinity-canva-pledge/

If we should trust that or not is another matter. I’m inclined not to.

Re: Canva Hikes Pices by 300pc as It Readies for IPO

#50

Tech execs: The government is the only source of inflation! Also Tech Execs: Raise prices!

I always find it weird when someone's economic model of the world is basically "I hope corporations aren't greedy and don't raise prices too much" Surely there must be something else going on, no?
Post reply on HN