Quote:
Originally Posted by skillachie
Would you only be using features that are local to your device only? Not requiring cross device sync of your files, highlights and reading progress?
If no then, sadly no. We would if we could.
Unfortunately, we cannot charge a single one time fee as it is not sustainable nor reasonable. We are not Apple/Google/etc, nor do we sell user data or ads.
Expectations of continuous updates and new features are not a "one time" expense also. We cannot reasonably offer a one time payment due to the following reasons:
- Salaries are also due monthly(app needs to be maintained) . Developers have expenses and families too.
- Infrastructure, storage and other costs are due monthly
- Other recurring expenses
Most apps that offer a one time payment, often end up not being maintained pass a couple years since the developers/company need to work on other projects to supplement their income. This has happened to Marvin 3, Kybooks and multiple others. Or they plan to just flip it along with user data to another entity. We want to build a sustainable company that does not depend on ads or selling users data that stands the test of time.
We do our best to provide reasonable and transparent pricing . There are projects that always pop up and then disappear with the guise of "free" or "open source" but with subscriptions tacked on at a later date or hidden until you sign up, these are also just strategies to gain user adoption (think about it like Google offering no limits on storage in Gmail or drive but now users must pay to use these services as they have now adopted them).
We don't do tricks or gimmicks but are just upfront and transparent. If I told you yes, it would not be honest since we know there is are recurring costs involved in what we do and there are no plans to sell readers data or explorer some other kind of monetization strategy. I know what we plan to provide. however is a bring your own storage option in the future but will still have a subscription cost.
I know this is not the ideal response you would have liked to hear but it's the best we can do. We do also understand the need to save and reduce cost especially in this economy. However, a single payment would mean all team members would need to stop working on BookFusion full time and secure other full time jobs to cover their personal expenses that we all have in this journey called life. Hope you understand. |
I don't use cross device sync. I've never wanted to sync. If I want to read the same thing on a different device, I just go to the chapter I left off at or search for where I need to be. But mostly I just read different books on different devices.
I get your reasoning for the subscription. I was just hoping maybe there could be a one time free for those of us who do not want to use any of the syncing features.