I remember getting chastised when I asked this question: http://www.boonex.com/unity/forums/#topic/How-Much-Should-Dolphin-Cost-.htm back in February. Interesting to see that some people who thought Dolphin was priced correctly at $998, now think the lower pricing is a positive business strategy :)
Andrew, I believe you have made the right decision to lower prices. It is a proven fact, that higher prices don't always result in higher profits. I believe you will see a much higher sales volume see more at this price, and a larger bottom line than ever before. The price of $299, may not be the perfect price point, but I believe it's a lot closer than it ever was before.
The more Boonex profits from Dolphin, the better things will be for all of us.
I do agree with Caltrade in that $20 per month, or $240 per year, for premium membership is a bit high. This is another area where I believe you will need to find the ideal price point, so that you can maximize the revenues generated by this premium membership, so that it can be self-sustaining and cover the costs associated with providing the extra services. Instinct tells me that $240 per year is not that ideal price point. If you price this membership at $50 - $60 per 6 month period, I believe you will get a lot more takers and more easily cover the cost of the extra resources needed to provide this increased level of service.
With Premium membership - it's something we should work on for some time to tell if the price is right. You know how it works... wages, bills vs income, etc...
Houston - the reason you were chastised when you wrote that post was because you could get a permanent license for $100. Most of us knew that this was a great deal and didn't want to draw too much attention from Boonex that it may have been underpriced. Plus, I don't think most people expected an unannounced price increase. As you know, that is exactly what happened when Boonex announced an almost eight fold price increase. I more or less led the protest against this, and if you think you were see more "chastised" I got rather brutally attacked for even expressing this opinion, and took about 100 negative votes I think. Most of the members here will generally support whatever Boonex says - but that does not necessarily mean they will support it, or that those policies in the real world. Another reason that post may have raised some eyebrows was because it was really Boonex's responsibility to ask that question - and with their automated polling technology right there, I am surprised the didn't.
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Unoboonex - saying premium membership is "something we should work on for some time" is the right approach. I don't know what you plan to offer in "premium membership" but if you set the price too high, then the demands will also be high - some people here might expect unreasonable levels of technical support. Have you thought of something much lower - maybe $30 a year and $50 lifetime? I am on a support board for some directory software that is $30 lifetime and it has been sustainable.
Andrew, I believe you have made the right decision to lower prices. It is a proven fact, that higher prices don't always result in higher profits. I believe you will see a much higher sales volume see more