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Omegatron said:I own both software products yet have never ran VB but on a test site. Even though Threads has not all the bells and whistles I find it a much better product and alot easier to manage and tweak. Yes Infopop's prices are outrageous. They really should come down to where everyone else is at. In time they will have to as they continually lose new business because of the price of their products. I would have to say on average that VB is purchased 10 to 1 over Threads and this is a price issue. The member cost at VB is 30.00 versus 125.00 here. Those of us who are die hard fans use it cause we like it. However in time if pricing does not level out I fear that just like Michael pointed out many people will convert to VB. [/]
I'm with Chuck on this one. VB is the standard right now. Yes, it is cheaper, it is poorly coded, and it has 10 zillion features that most people don't need all crammed into one package. Their community is not as helpful, tight knit, or willing to help people out as maybe threads is... but at the same time, if threads ever wants to compete seriously with VB, the pricing scheme needs to change a bit IMO.
Again, I'm not going to rip on Infopop or critisize their business model, as it is working so far, and I'm very greatful it is. But, the sad thing is, most people who are familiar with VB have no idea threads exists. Whenever you mention "UBB" (with or without the word 'threads') people instantly think UGH, CGI, its slow, its a resource hog...
I don't know how many times I've had to point people to the threads site and show them IP does have a php/mysql solution. BUt... even after I do, people always point out it is wayyy more expensive, or it doesn't have a calendar, blah blah blah... you know how it goes.
I understand that many of these features are in the works for 6.4 or later, and the quality control and customer support behind threads is almost infinately better than vbulletin, I should know, I own licenses in both.
But at the same time, for all of my small scale sites, or test sites I know won't make any money I have to always go to phpBB or vbulletin because I, like most people can't drop 230 bucks on something that I might not ever see the return on.
I understand you may be marketing the profitable sites, and/or businesses that don't have a problem dropping the extra cash, but when the software costs 100 bucks more and is in a relative sense, newer than the cheaper and more widely used alternative.. what do you think most people are going to buy?
I personally made the switch from VB to threads simply because of the Infopop brand, the support behind it, and knowing I had a solid company with a great community backing my decision. vBulletin tends to have more of the "kids" who can easily get their hands on a copy or run hobby sites, and everyone on their forums is out to make a quick buck selling their styles or button schemes, unlike here at threadsdev. But remember, people like me are the minority, I see the future threads has, I see the performance increase over VB... but I also have the pocketbook to back my decision. 90% of webmasters don't, and will always go for the cheaper alternative.
IMO, until threads becomes more widely used, or has some of the new features anticipated, the pricing should be dropped. Or at least offer a 1 year license for a fraction of the cost. This is needed to build a larger threads userbase. Once people begin using the software and realize it's power, features, and speed, they will only then see it's superiority over vb and other software. But right now, due to cost... most sites run vb, and therefore people are more "comfortable" with that interface, which is in the end just hurting the very young threads software that doesn't have as much visibility.
Ok, I've rambled on long enough... sorry. I'm not questioning Infopop's business decisions or marketing strategies, but I'm just offering my opinion from an avid webmaster and host and general consumer
Thanks.
